Michigan State Proves They're Most Dangerous Big Ten Team With Win Over Penn State
The Michigan State Spartans appeared to be on their way to a blowout loss Tuesday night against Penn State. The Spartans trailed 46-31 at halftime. Then came a second-half surge that saw Michigan State outscore Penn State 48-25 en route to a 79-71 win.
This is Michigan State's third straight conference win over a ranked opponent and comes on the same night Maryland fell by 11 points to Rutgers. Now the Spartans have a chance to take the regular season Big Ten title Sunday against Ohio State. Don't look now, OSU, but Tom Izzo and Cassius Winston are coming for you.
Michigan State comes back from 19 down and wins. Maryland loses. Spartans will play for their third straight Big Ten title on Sunday vs. Ohio State
— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) March 4, 2020
Sparty started the season as the No. 1 team in the nation before an opening loss to Kentucky. A loss to Virginia Tech dropped the team even further, but Michigan State turned it around in conference play and is back to being one of the most dangerous contenders in the country. The emergence of Aaron Henry of late as a secondary scorer to Winston -- one the Spartans have been lacking all season -- is an encouraging development.
Michigan State has won 4 straight after tonight’s win at Penn State — 3 have come on the road and 3 against ranked teams.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 4, 2020
Izzo. Cassius. Tillman. And Rocket Watts doesn’t look like a freshman.
Maryland entered Tuesday night ranked No. 9 in the nation before losing to Rutgers. This follows a loss to Michigan State that was also by double-digits. Two double-digit losses ahead of the conference tournament is not a great sign for the Terrapins.
The Spartans are heating up at the right time and showing why they entered the season as the nation's top team. A win on Sunday would show that the Spartans are not only a threat to win the Big Ten, but to the NCAA Tournament as well.