Maryland Basketball: Terps show their youth in loss to Michigan State
The No.6 Michigan State Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) showed their experience and balance on both ends in a convincing home win against No.13 Maryland Basketball (16-4, 7-2 Big Ten).
In a highly anticipated matchup for number one in the Big Ten, Maryland basketball came into the Breslin Center looking to upset the Michigan State Spartans.
The Spartans jumped out to a 12-6 lead thanks to their three-point shooting.
Matt McQuaid made two three’s early to get himself going and an Aaron Henry dunk off the fastbreak got the Breslin Center crowd excited.
Maryland basketball was able to tie the game up at 20 under five minutes to go. After the Terps went on a run of their own to keep the game close, the Spartans finished the half with an 11-0 run and a 31-20 lead.
The Michigan State Spartans kept putting the pressure on the Terps led by Cassius Winston and Kenny Goins, and their lead stretched to 19 points, 46-29.
At 7:47 mark in the second half, the Spartans led 61-45, and Kenny Goins had 14 points, 10 rebounds while Winston had 12 points and six assists.
The Terps finally hit a wall facing a more experienced team. The only surprise here was that Nick Ward didn’t go off for a big game. Even still, the Spartans showed just how deep their team is when their third-leading scorer in Joshua Langford is out and Ward’s name isn’t called much.
The Spartans had the balanced attack in this one and there were points where Maryland basketball could have cut the lead to single digits but then a series of plays were made to halt the comeback attempt.
The Spartans won this game because of fast break points (29) and points off turnovers (14 points off 12 forced turnovers).
The Michigan State Spartans maintain their winning streak moving to 17-2 (8-0) with a 69-55 win. The 20th consecutive Big Ten victory for them.
Goins had 12 rebounds to go along with his 14 points. Winston had 14 points and seven assists.
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For the Terps, Anthony Cowan Jr. was held to just seven points, Darryl Morsell had 10 points and Bruno Fernando had 12 points and 13 rebounds.