Photo: Nick King ~ USA TODAY NETWORK
EAST LANSING, December 7, 2024 ~ In the first game of conference play at the Breslin Center, Michigan State basketball (8-2) shut down the Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2) 89-52 Saturday afternoon for the Spartans third win in a row.
The green and white started off strong early, jumping out a 7-0 lead. The Spartans and Cornhuskers would go back and forth throughout the first half, ending in a 10 point lead for MSU.
Michigan State wouldn’t look back in the second though as the team jumped out to a 20 point lead in the first 10 minutes of the final half, using a 19-3 run along the way.
The energy from MSU was on another level from the start, as junior forward Jaxon Kohler was fighting all game long for rebounds and loose balls. The Spartans outrebounded the Cornhuskers 48-19.
“Jaxon did an unbelievable job, grabbing seven of those rebounds offensively” head coach Tom Izzo told WJR Correspondent Nick Lundberg after the game. “That effort level is who we are and who we have to get back to, I thought we did a lot of good things.”
One of the more infectious plays of the afternoon came on a pass from the seat of redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. pants for one of his game-high eight assists, finding sophomore forward Coen Carr for a wide open slam.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
ASSIST FROM THE FLOOR
: BTN pic.twitter.com/1mUhFjHVhr
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) December 7, 2024
(CONTINUED) Kohler finished his afternoon with eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Carr added eight points of his own to go with two huge blocked shots.
Senior guard Jaden Akins and freshman guard Jase Richardson led the way in scoring, tallying 18 and 16 respectively with a combined six made three pointers from the duo.
MSU’s defense was stifling the entire contest, only allowing a 33% shooting percentage from Nebraska while the green and white converted at a 52% rate.
Michigan State will be back in action in Detroit against Oakland on Dec. 17 at Little Caesars Arena.
TOP 760 WJR STORIES:
