• Michigan State taking on Southern Utah on Dec. 9 at the Breslin Center

EAST LANSING - Michigan State put four players in double figures and claimed the win over Southern Utah by 88-63 on Dec. 9 at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State, ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls, improved to 9-1 overall with its eighth-straight win.  

Sophomore guard/forward Miles Bridges scored 17 points, had 11 rebounds and tied his career high with six assists. Freshman forward Jaren Jackson Jr. had 17 points and tied a career-high with 13 rebounds to lead the Spartans. Sophomore forward Nick Ward added 17 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots and sophomore guard Cassius Winston chipped in 15 points and five assists. 

This was the second time this season that Michigan State has had two players register double-doubles in the same game.

“I thought we played pretty well early," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "They made some shots and we missed a bunch of shots. Then we got a lead and just did something uncharacteristic of us. We got a lead and we kind of just said ‘my turn.’ That was the first time I’ve seen that and I told my team I was disappointed in that because we weren’t moving the ball like I thought we could. You know, some things happen. I thought that technical hurt us. We were 14-up and I don’t agree with. If anything, it could’ve been a double. They hit the two free-throws, they hit a three and all of a sudden it’s a 9-point game. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”

The Spartans went into the half with a 42-30 lead, keyed by their shooting from outside the arc, connecting on 7-of-10 3-point attempts.

Michigan State blocked 12 shots in the game, marking the Spartans’ fifth game with at least 10 rejections. 



The Spartans are off this week for final exams and return to action on Saturday, Dec. 16, playing Oakland University at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Mich.