Pat Chambers Leads #20 Penn State Into East Lansing For The Upset Of #14 Michigan State
Breslin Center
East Lansing
The #14 Michigan State Spartans came back home for another Big Ten conference game tonight and they still lost. They fell to the #20 Penn State Nittany Lions 73-70. The loss takes the men in green’s season record and conference record to 16-7 (8-4).
The Spartans had one player score in double-digits and were led by Cassius Winston who had 25 points and nine assists. Rocket Watts drooped in 16 points and Xavier Tillman had 11 rebounds.
Tom Izzo said, “Tough day for me today and the Spartans. As I lose a football coach, I am happy for him. Bu the same thing reared it’s ugly head, turnovers and missed shots.”
Pat Chambers the Penn State head coach said, “Anytime you come in here you are going to learn something about you as a coach and your players. We were able to withstand some mighty runs by them. I thought we did a really good job of fighting back. For Michigan State to only get seven offensive rebounds, that was big.”
The men in the green won the battle of the boards over the Badgers by a margin of 36-34. The Spartans had 15 terrible turnovers. That was the difference in the game giving the Lions a 21-9 advantage with points off of turnovers.
The Spartan defense allowed the Lions to shoot 41% from the field and 43% from three.
Izzo added, “We just didn’t do the job. A lot of musical chairs trying to get Gabe (Brown) back in the rotation. Our guys gave a good effort. We are not trying to miss layups, but in three games it has been costly.”
The Lions had the lead in the 40 minutes of the game for 23:16. The Spartans led for 10:49. In all Tom Izzo played 10 players. All 10 of them scored.
Izzo’s men had 16 assists on 26 baskets. The Spartans shot 30% from three, 47% from the field and 85% from the charity stripe.
The team will return to the hard-court Saturday, February 8, 2020, in Ann Arbor, at the Crisler Center. They will be taking on the Michigan Wolverines. It can be seen on Fox at 12:00 PM (NOON) ET.
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