Michigan State Cruise Past Maryland Basketball 91-61

Maryland basketball (13-4, 2-2 Big Ten) falls big to No.1 Michigan State (15-1, 3-0 Big Ten) as the Spartans cruised to victory.

Maryland basketball held their own early against No. 1 Michigan State as both teams entered with extended winning streaks. The Terps quickly jumped out to a 7-3 lead and even held a 27-26 lead with 7:50 left in the first half.

Maryland’s Kevin Huerter and Michigan State’s Miles Bridges had the hot hand for their respective teams. Huerter finished the first half with 14 points a rebound and an assist while Bridges finished with nine points, four assists, and four rebounds.

After a half of basketball, Spartans led Maryland 44-32 at halftime after a 15-0 run that included two straight threes from Matt McQuaid off the bench.

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Michigan State was able to get the Terps in foul trouble which also helped their cause. The momentum shifted in favor of the Spartans after Nick Ward recovered a loose ball near Michigan State’s bench. As a result, Michigan State’s Head Coach Tom Izzo and bench erupted.

The Spartans biggest lead was 22, 63-41 under 14 minutes to go and it was going to take a miracle for Maryland to come back. Bench points and assists also favored Michigan State as they had 19 and 16 in this categories respectively.

Ultimately, Michigan State secured the victory by spreading out the offense on the offensive preventing Maryland from getting into a rhythm. Spartans surely proved why there college basketball’s No.1 team.

The Spartans had four players finish in double figures: Nick Ward (16 points, five rebounds), Jaren Jackson Jr.(15 points, three blocks, two steals, one rebound) Miles Bridges (15 points, seven assists, six rebounds, two blocks) and Cassius Winston (10 points, eight assists).

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As a team, the Spartans had 30 assists and went 16-28 from behind the arc. For Maryland, this was a big loss. They play Iowa at the Xfinity Center on Sunday. That game will hopefully take the bad taste out of the Terps’ mouths.