Ninth-ranked Michigan State showed no disappointment from losing at home to Northwestern on Jan. 21, which snapped an 11-game winning streak and 28-game home winning streak.
Instead, the Spartans (16-3, 6-1 Big Ten) rebounded brilliantly, dominating the boards with a 35-19 advantage en route to a 78-67 victory at Ohio State (13-5, 3-4).
Michigan State is now 4-0 in Big Ten road games, and coach Tom Izzo attributes his team’s success to its toughness and hustle.
“For the most part, you’ve got to be pretty solid defensively,” Izzo said. “You’ve got to be able to rebound the ball well so that teams don’t get those big runs on you. We’ve negated teams’ runs on the road, which I think is a critical part (of our success).”
Spartans guard Durrell Summers led all scorers with 26 points, which eclipsed his previous career high by 10 points. He was 8-of-13 from the field and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Despite being benched, teammate Kalin Lucas was unaffected, scoring 20 points in 31 minutes of play.
Ohio State led by as much as 13 in the first half, but the Spartans turned it on in the second, outscoring the Buckeyes 52-36.
“We played one of our better halves of basketball the second half, both shooting the ball, taking care of the ball and a pretty good job of defending overall,” Izzo said.
Michigan State travels to Iowa tomorrow and hosts Penn State on Sunday.
Purdue gathering steam
With a win at now-No. 24 Minnesota last Thursday and a narrow road victory against Wisconsin on Tuesday, No. 17 Purdue extended its current winning streak to five games – the longest winning streak in the Big Ten.
The Boilermakers (15-4, 5-2) beat Minnesota (17-3, 5-3) thanks in large part to tough defense, holding their opponent to a season-low 27.6 percent from the field, including an abysmal 3-of-19 from 3-point range.
Despite trailing for most of the game, the Gophers played well defensively. The team had 12 steals and 10 blocks, something Purdue coach Matt Painter said his team took some time to get used to.
“We really struggled in converting and a lot of that had to do with the quickness and athleticism of Minnesota,” Painter said. “It took us about a half to really adjust to them, but our defense kept us in it and our guys did a good job.”
Purdue forward JaJuan Johnson led the Boilermakers on both ends of the court, contributing 19 points and five blocks. Purdue shot nearly 50 percent from the field to make up for 17 turnovers.
“We struggled taking care of the basketball and really taking the opportunities that were presented to us and being able to get some points,” Painter said.
After losing their first two Big Ten games by a combined seven points, the Boilermakers are now 5-2 in the conference. The team will host Michigan on Saturday.
Big Ten Notes
The Spartans’ home winning streak was tied for third-longest in the nation, trailing only Notre Dame (45) and Kansas (35). Michigan State had won their last 12 games against NU. Indiana (5-13, 0-6) remains the only Big Ten team winless in conference play but has been a tough out recently at home. The Hoosiers only lost by four to Minnesota on Sunday. They visit Evanston tonight in a battle of the two teams at the bottom of the Big Ten standings. Ohio State (13-5, 3-4) is hoping to end a two-game skid tonight as they host rival Michigan (14-6, 4-4).
