Michigan State Handles Butler for 73-52 Win

Indianapolis, Ind. – Senior forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) scored 19 points to lead three players in double figures as Michigan State beat Butler, 73-52, in the Gavitt Tipoff Games at Hinkle Fieldhouse Wednesday night.

The Spartans improved to 2-1 with the win, while Butler falls to 3-1.

Freshman guard Max Christie (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) scored a career-high 18 points and senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) added 10 points, six rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots.

Recap

MSU had jumped out to a quick lead in the raucous atmosphere at Hinkle Fieldhouse and took an 18-8 lead after a basket from Christie with 13:59 to play that forced Butler to call a timeout.
After Jair Bolden hit a three to cut the MSU lead to 22-11 at the 10:28 mark, both teams went scoreless for over four minutes before Butler's Aaron Thompson finished a layup off a Spartan turnover at 6:02.
Junior forward Julius Marble II (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit) ended the MSU scoreless streak with back-to-back made free throws at the 4:52 mark, and Brown broke the field goal drought just over a minute later with a drive to the paint, drawing a foul and finishing the three-point play when he drained a free throw with 3:47 left to make it 27-16.
After leading by as many as 14 points in the first half, Michigan State went into the break with an eight-point edge, 31-23, with Christie scoring nine points and Brown adding eight points.
Leading by just six points, 34-28, Christie hit a 3-pointer early in the second half to key a 10-0 run as MSU took its biggest lead of the game, 44-28, on another basket from the freshman, this one with 14:10 to play.
The Bulldogs pulled to within 49-36 with 9:20 to play, but a dunk from Bingham and a banked 3-pointer from junior forward Malik Hall (Aurora, Ill./Sunrise Christian Academy [Kan.]) gave MSU a 20-point lead, 64-44, with 3:48 left.
A 3-pointer from Butler's Chuck Harris cut the lead to 13 points again (64-51), but the Spartans hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.

Key Stats

The Green & White held the Bulldogs to 28.6 percent shooting from the field, as the Spartans made 46.9 percent of their own shots and held a 41-25 advantage in rebounding.
The Spartans had the edge at the charity stripe, shooting 79.2 percent (19-of-24) to Butler's 61.1 percent (11-of-18).
Turnovers were an issue for both sides, as Butler had 17 points off 20 MSU turnovers and the Spartans scored 14 points from 14 Bulldog turnovers.
MSU had a wide margin in second-chance points, 16-5, and points in the paint, 24-10.
MSU did not allow a single basket to Butler off the fast break.
The Spartans improved its 3-point shooting in the second half, going 5-for-8 (62.5%) in the final 20 minutes after shooting only 3-for-16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc in the opening half.

Notes

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Butler, 14-11, and is now 5-8 all-time on the road against the Bulldogs.
Head Coach Tom Izzo coached his 900th career game on Wednesday night … He now has a career record of 645-255.
Senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. had a career-high six blocked shots.
Bingham's six blocks are tied for the second-most in a single game in Michigan State history.
The six blocks are the most in a game for an MSU player since Kenny Goins had eight against Indiana on Feb. 2, 2019.
Bingham finished with 10 points, his third game in double figures this year and the sixth of his career.
Senior forward Gabe Brown scored a season-high 19 points. It was his third game in double figures this year and the 21st of his career.
Freshman guard Max Christie scored a career-high 18 points.

Up Next
Michigan State returns home to host Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Breslin Center. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m. and the game will air on B1G+.

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Team Stats

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Malik Hall

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Julius Marble II

Players Mentioned

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Gabe Brown

Max Christie

Malik Hall

Julius Marble II