No. 6 Michigan State beats Penn State 88-57 after slow start

After Taylor was called for an offensive foul under the hoop, Chambers stormed up the sideline towards the referees and was soon given the pink slip back to the locker room with the Lions trailing 35-18 at the time. Penn State is 4-1 against the spread following a game that they didn’t cover the point spread, 2-5 against the spread in their last seven road games, and 1-4 against the spread following a win.

“I thought we came really prepared to play today”, said head coach Jeff Zinn. “We’re going to buck the system of being the brunt of everybody’s jokes”. Winning all three should prove enough to secure a top-four position in the Big Ten Tournament (the top four seeds get a double bye).

Chambers said after the game that he was fighting for his team.

The Spartans connected on 52 percent of their shots in the first half after combining for a 3-of-15 shooting start and led 52-27 at halftime.

Denzel Valentine led the Spartans (24-5, 11-5) with 19 points, Bryn Forbes and Deyonta Davis each had 15.

“I think we’ve got a chance to make a run”, Izzo said. Payton Banks had 12 points Devin Foster added 11. “Our margin for error is very small”.

Michigan State enters play on Sunday ranked sixth nationally and sitting in a tie for fourth place (with Wisconsin) in the Big Ten standings.

Chambers’ frustration built as the Spartans steadily increased their lead.

The Spartans hit five straight field goals, capped by a Forbes’ 3-pointer, to turn a five-point lead into a 19-point advantage.

Four different Nittany Lions saw their afternoons end earlier than expected against Michigan State, although their continued presence probably wouldn’t have made much of an impact to the final score. Chambers also received a technical during the Nittany Lions’ 66-60 loss at Michigan State last season and criticized the officiating afterward. The 2004-05 squad averaged 78.5 points….

It was a performance that the MSU coaching staff can point to at practice in the coming weeks when they need to remind the Spartans of their massive potential when they put all of these elements together.

The Penn State Nittany Lions are 15-13 this season and they have won their last three games. It will be updated after Sunday’s game. No. 98 Matt Barry easily defeated Pompan of Penn 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the win at 4-1.