Thursday, January 4
East Lansing, Mich.
7 PM
Michigan State University
9-5,1-2Big Ten
92
vs
61
Penn State
7-7,1-2Big Ten
1
2
F
Penn St.
26
35
61
Michigan St.
51
41
92
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell
Hall Scores Career-High 24 Points to Lead Five in Double Figures as Michigan State Uses Big First Half to Beat Penn State, 92-61
1/4/2024 9:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – Graduate forward Malik Hall tied his career high with 24 points and Michigan State's men's basketball opened up a 25-point lead at halftime en route to a 92-61 win over Penn State at the Breslin Center on Thursday night.
Hall hit 9-of-12 shots from the floor and a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 24 points, adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead five players in double figures.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 22 points and had five assists and tied a career-high with six steals, while junior guard Jaden Akins added 10 points and four assists, senior guard A.J. Hoggard had 10 points and four assists and sophomore guard Tre Holloman finished with 10 points and a game-high assists, while senior forward Mady Sissoko had five points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Records
Michigan State, winners of five-straight games, improves to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten Conference, while Penn State falls to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Recap
Michigan State hits the road for a pair of games, starting on Sunday, Jan. 7 at Northwestern (BTN, 7:30 p.m.).
Hall hit 9-of-12 shots from the floor and a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 24 points, adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead five players in double figures.
Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 22 points and had five assists and tied a career-high with six steals, while junior guard Jaden Akins added 10 points and four assists, senior guard A.J. Hoggard had 10 points and four assists and sophomore guard Tre Holloman finished with 10 points and a game-high assists, while senior forward Mady Sissoko had five points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Records
Michigan State, winners of five-straight games, improves to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten Conference, while Penn State falls to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Recap
- Michigan State led by 25 points (51-26) at half and extended its lead to 28 points in the opening minutes on a layup from Hoggard, making it 60-32 with 16:43 to play.
- Free throws from Akins gave MSU a 30-point lead, 67-37, with 15:07 on the clock before a 15-4 run by Penn State pulled the Nittany Lions to within 19 points, 71-52, on a free throw from Qudus Wahab at 8:36.
- The Spartans responded with a 9-0 run and extended the lead back to 28 points, 80-52, on a 3-pointer from Hall with 5:55 left.
- A 3-pointer from freshman forward Xavier Booker gave the Spartans their biggest lead of the game, 90-57 (33 points) with 2:16 left and a jumper from senior guard Davis Smith closed out the scoring with 19 seconds left.
- Michigan State went into the half with a 51-26 lead, connecting on 64.5 percent of its shots (20-of-31) and 62.5 percent of its 3-pointers (5-of-8).
- Seven different players scored for the Spartans, with Hall (15) and Walker (13) leading the way.
- A three-point play from Penn State's Nick Kern cut the MSU lead to 18-12 near the mid-point of the first half, but the Spartans out-scored Penn State, 15-4, over nearly five minutes to take a 33-16 lead on a 3-pointer from Walker at the 7:44 mark.
- Following a timeout, the Spartans scored eight straight points – a jumper and an alley-oop from Hall as well as free throws from freshman forward Coen Carr – and took a 41-16 lead on a jumper from Holloman with 5:11 left.
- The Spartans twice held a 26-point lead, first on a three-point play from Sissoko (46-20, 3:36) and then on a fast break dunk from Holloman (50-24, 1:24).
- Michigan State shot 56.3 percent from the floor (36-of-64), including 64.5 percent in the first half (20-of-31).
- The Spartans connected on 47.6 percent of their 3-point attempts (10-of-21), hitting five in each half.
- MSU forced 16 turnovers and had a 24-10 edge in points off turnovers.
- The Spartans scored 20 points off the fast break.
- Michigan State held a 40-36 advantage in rebounding, including 28-19 in the second half.
- Michigan State handed out 25 assists on 36 made field goals (69.4 percent).
- Michigan State leads the all-time series with Penn State, 44-10, including a 26-2 record in East Lansing and a 22-2 mark at the Breslin Center.
- MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo is 37-9 all-time against the Nittany Lions.
- Izzo won his 696th career game as a head coach.
- Michigan State scored 92 points, the second-most this season.
- It was the first time MSU scored at least 90 points in regulation against a Big Ten team since a 91-76 win over Nebraska on March 5, 2019.
- The Spartans' 32-point margin of victory marked the first win by at least 30 points over a Big Ten opponent since an 87-57 win at Minnesota on Feb. 13, 2018.
- It was the largest margin of victory in a Big Ten game since a 96-62 win over Rutgers on Jan. 31, 2016.
- MSU's 51 points in the first half were the most since Jan. 2, 2019, when MSU led Northwestern, 52-32, at the break.
- The Spartans are now 8-2 at home this season.
- MSU is 9-1 when leading at the half this season.
- The Spartans are 5-0 when shooting at least 50 percent from the floor.
- MSU has a 9-4 record when shooting better than its opponent.
- The Spartans are 8-0 this season when controlling the battle of the boards.
- Michigan State has a 7-3 record when forcing more turnovers (MSU 12, Penn State 16).
- The Spartans are 9-2 this season when scoring at least 70 points, including a 6-0 mark when scoring more than 80.
- This was the eighth game MSU has held an opponent under 70 points, carrying an 8-0 mark in those games.
- Tyson Walker scored 22 points, his 11th game in double figures this year and the 85th of his career.
- Walker has scored at least 20 points in seven different games.
- Walker now has 1,062 career points at MSU and moved past Earvin Johnson and is tied for 47th all-time in scoring at Michigan State with Jumpin' Johnny Green.
- Walker has scored 1,742 points in 133 career games (13.1 ppg).
- Walker led the team with five assists, his fifth time leading the team this season.
- Walker tied his career high of six steals.
- Malik Hall tied his career-high of 24 points, while adding five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
- He has scored in double figures seven time this season and 40 times in his career.
- Hall now has 960 career points at Michigan State.
- A.J. Hoggard scored 10 points, his 11th game in double figures this year and the 45th of his career.
- Hoggard now has 910 career points at Michigan State.
- Jaden Akins scored 10 points, his fourth-straight game in double figures, the 10th this season and the 24th of his career.
- Mady Sissoko grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, tying a career high for the second-straight game.
- His 12 rebounds marked the fourth game this season with at least 10 and the ninth of his career.
- He has led MSU in rebounding seven times this season and 20 times in his career.
Michigan State hits the road for a pair of games, starting on Sunday, Jan. 7 at Northwestern (BTN, 7:30 p.m.).
Team Stats
PSU
MSU
FG%
.323
.563
3FG%
.103
.476
FT%
.818
.769
RB
36
40
TO
16
12
STL
4
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballTom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Apr. 16 2025
Wednesday, April 16
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Mar. 25 2025
Tuesday, March 25
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Mar. 18 2025
Tuesday, March 18
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | March 16, 2025
Sunday, March 16