Michigan State University
20-9,12-6Big Ten
Maryland
23-6,13-5Big Ten
Team Stats
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Winston Leads No. 24 Michigan State Past No. 9 Maryland, 78-66
2/29/2020 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored 20 points and handed out six assists as No. 24 Michigan State opened up an 11-point halftime lead and beat No. 9 Maryland, 78-66, on Saturday night at XFinity Center.
Freshman forward Malik Hall (Aurora, Ill./Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]) scored 16 points and had six rebounds, while junior forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while adding six assists and two blocks and freshman guard Rocket Watts (Detroit, Mich./SPIRE Academy [Ohio]) finished with 13 points, three assists and two rebounds.
Records
Michigan State, winners of three-straight games and four of its last five overall, improves to 20-9 overall and 12-6 in the Big Ten Conference, while Maryland falls to 23-6 overall and 13-5 in league play.
Summary
- The Spartans led by 11 points, 40-29, at halftime and used a 9-4 run over the opening 2:43 of the second half to take a 49-33 lead on a Tillman layup and force Maryland to call a timeout.
- Michigan State took its biggest lead, 61-43, on a pair of free throws from Hall with 13:05 to play in the game.
- A 9-2 Maryland run capped by a basket from Jalen Smith with 7:28 left cut the lead to 66-57, but MSU and Watts responded with a pair of baskets, as the freshman hit a 3-pointer and followed that up with a jumper to make it 71-57 with 6:19 left.
- Winston hit a 3-pointer to make it 75-61 with 4:24 left and Maryland managed to cut the lead to 10 points, but free throws from Hall with 57 seconds provided the final margin for MSU.
- The Spartans took a 40-29 lead at the break thanks after Winston sank a 3-pointer from beyond midcourt after Maryland turned the ball over with 1.9 seconds left.
- MSU jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead and forced Maryland to call a timeout after Watts hit a 3-pointer at the 17:44 mark.
- Michigan State led 17-5 after a 3-pointer from Winston, but the Terps tied the game at 23-all on a 3-pointer from Ricky Lindo Jr. capping an 18-6 run.
- The Spartans responded with seven-straight points over the next 1:11 – a layup from Tillman followed by a jumper and a 3-pointer from Winston – as the lead grew back to seven points, 30-23, with 8:28 remaining.
- A dunk from Tillman with 1:01 left made it 37-29 and Winston hit a running 3-pointer from nearly 50 feet out to give MSU the 40-29 lead at the break.
- Michigan State held a 35-29 edge in rebounding.
- The Spartans collected 10 offensive rebounds and scored 19 second-chance points.
- MSU shot 47.5 percent from the floor (28-of-59), including 51.6 percent (16-of-31) of its two-point field goals.
- MSU connected on 42.9 percent of its 3-pointers, hitting seven from long distance in the first half.
- The Spartans had 20 assists on 28 made field goals.
- The win was the 300th career Big Ten Conference win for MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo. He is one of two coaches in conference history with at least 300 wins (Bob Knight).
- Michigan State handed Maryland its first home loss of the season after 15-straight wins.
- The Spartans have won seven of the last nine meetings against the Terrapins.
- Head Coach Tom Izzo is 10-6 all-time against Maryland.
- Michigan State has now won 20 games in nine-straight seasons under Head Coach Tom Izzo.
- Izzo has 20 20-win seasons at Michigan State and has missed the plateau only once since 2003-04.
- This was the 28th time this season MSU has held its opponent below 50.0 percent shooting from the floor (19-9).
- MSU is now 19-2 when scoring at least 70 points.
- This was the 12th game this season the Spartans have dished out 20 or more assists.
- Tillman tied a career-high with six assists and scored 14 points, his 20th game this season in double figures.
- He tallied his 13th double-double of the season and 18th of his career.
- Tillman led MSU in rebounding for the 27th time this season.
- Winston scored 20 points, his third-straight game with 20-plus points and 16th of the season.
- He has scored in double figures 25 times this season and 98 times in his career.
- He now was 1,928 career points and passed Jay Vincent (1977-81) for sixth place on the all-time scoring list.
- Winston needs 69 points to pass Kalin Lucas (2007-11) for fifth place.
- He handed out six assists, increasing his MSU and Big Ten all-time lead in the category to 877.
- Winston led the team in assists for the 22nd time this season and 107th in his career.
- Tillman blocked two shots, increasing his MSU all-time lead to 149 in that category.
- His 61 blocks this season are the fifth-most in a single season at MSU.
- Hall scored in double figures for the second time this season.
- Watts added 13 points, his eighth game this season in double figures.
Up Next
Michigan State plays its final road game of the regular season on Tuesday, March 3 at Penn State. Tipoff at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. is slated for 7 p.m. The game airs live on ESPN2, with Dave Flemming, Dan Dakich and Molly McGrath calling all of the action.