No. 3 Michigan State romps over Binghamton 76-33

Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine (45) shoots against Binghamton during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, in East Lansing, Mich.

Michigan State yielded just 12 first-half points Saturday, with Binghamton going 4-for-31 from the field.

It started with an alley-oop jam from Denzel Valentine four seconds in.

Jonathan Holton added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Mountaineers, who built a double-digit lead in the first seven minutes and led 41-24 at half in a runaway. Eron Harris got a bit more on track again as well, scoring 11 and dishing out five assists. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article. And Valentine finished a brilliantly designed play with a wide-open two-handed slam dunk. It was the lowest point total against the Spartans since the 92-46 win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff on November 20.

Although Binghamton isn’t one of the best opponents MSU will face this year, all week long, the Spartans were hearing about how they’d be moving up to No. 1 in the rankings if they won.

Michigan State 35, Binghamton 9 (3:36): Marvin Clark Jr. takes and makes his first triple of the game. By the end of the afternoon Saturday, the Spartans were 9-0 after knocking off Binghamton University 76-33 at the Breslin Center.

This was the first-ever meeting between the teams…. The only other time Binghamton faced a team ranked as high as No. 3 was MI in 2012-13….

Michigan State was already on its way to being the No. 1 team in the country, what with Kentucky and Maryland losing earlier this week.