No. 8 Michigan State had its way in the first half, shooting well from outside and in the paint and taking a 38-24 lead over No. 4 Michigan at halftime at the Breslin Center.
Derrick Nix had 10 points, Gary Harris nine — all on 3-pointers — and Branden Dawson eight in the first 20 minutes.
MSU shot 55 percent (16-of-29) in the first half and had good looks inside (Nix) and outside (Harris). Although Keith Appling had three points on 1-of-7 shooting, the other Spartans have picked up the scoring slack.
Trey Burke has 10 points for Michigan but he hasn’t gotten much help — Nik Stauskas has five points and Mitch McGary four.
Michigan wanted to get into a transition game, but has seven turnovers in the first half, which has short-circuited some of their running.
The Breslin Center crowd is electric — and the Spartans are fueling off their energy.
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