Walker scores 21, Michigan State beats Nebraska, 74-56

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State used 21 points from Tyson Walker and 10 points apiece from Jaxon Kohler and Joey Hauser in beating Nebraska 74-56 Tuesday at Breslin Center.

The Spartans’ 22-point halftime lead fluctuated between 12 and 23 points in the second half with Michigan State (10-4 and 2-1 in the Big Ten) never in serious danger. 

Seeing the lead reduced to 12 with less than 10 minutes to go was enough to make Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo growl a little bit.

“I’m not confident in this team yet,” Izzo said. “We had one good game. We played decent these last couple of games. We worked together as a team tonight. I thought there were a lot of great things, but that stretch in the second half made me realize we still have some immaturity left in us.”

INSIDE THE BOXSCORE

Hauser had 10 boards to go with his 10 points, giving him five double-doubles on the year.

Jaden Akins added 9 for Michigan State and Pierre Brooks scored 8. 

A.J. Hoggard had nine assists to go with 4 points.

Malik Hall, playing for the second time since coming back from a stress reaction which caused him to miss eight games, scored 5 points.

Nebraska center Derrick Walker led the visitors with 15 points. 

Walker’s 21 points is his most since scoring 22 and 21 on consecutive games against Villanova and Alabama in November. Walker was 9-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-6 from 3-point range.

Michigan State out-rebounded Nebraska, 46-29.

“We had two keys: Get back (on defense) and rebound,” said Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg. “We got smoked on the glass and in the first half they got too many in transition on us.”

Michigan State will play host to Michigan at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (FOX). 

HOW IT WENT DOWN

Michigan State led 39-17 at the half, but Nebraska cut into that advantage through the first 13 minutes of the second half. 

Brooks stretched the lead back to 20 on a 3-pointer (53-33) from the right corner via an extra pass assist from Hall.

Nebraska patiently, methodically cut the lead to 14 at 53-39, but Hauser answered with a 3-pointer from Tre Holloman to make it 56-39 with 10:12 to play.

Nebraska cut the lead to 12 points on two occasions at the 8:56 and 7:12 mark, but Kohler and Hall helped the Spartans restore order.

Kohler hit a put-back while being fouled (58-44, 8:56) and then Hoggard fed Kohler on a screen-and-roll to make it 60-46. Kohler’s 10 points were a career-high.

Then it was Hall’s turn. Hall had been quiet and scoreless through the first 34 minutes, but then scored 5 straight. 

Hall’s offensive rebound and reverse lay-up put-back made it 62-46 with 5:30 left. 

Then, Hall was fouled while hitting a field goal off a side ball screen play. That bucket and his free throw extended Michigan State’s lead to 65-46. 

The 22-point halftime lead was restored at 68-46 with 4:10 left when Walker nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner, assist to Hauser. 

Michigan State’s biggest lead of the night was 70-47 after a pair of Hoggard free throws with 3:19 to play.

MSU out-shot Nebraska, 48 percent to 42 percent, but the Huskers out-shot the Spartans 57 to 45 percent in the second half.

THE REST OF IT

The Spartans enjoyed a hot-shooting first half in racing to a 39-17 lead.

“I thought that was the best first half of basketball we have played in awhile,” Izzo said.

Walker had 16 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range. This came after Walker was a frustrated 2-of-8 from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point range in a victory over Buffalo on Friday.

But Walker was hot from the start in this game. He nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner on Michigan State’s opening possession. 

A pull-up jumper by Walker off the dribble gave Michigan State a 39-17 lead with 1:14 left in the first half. 

Walker had 14 points by the 10-minute mark of the first half when his transition 3-pointer gave Michigan State a 26-13 lead, causing Nebraska to call time out. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo met Walker near mid-court to give him a hug after that one. 

Nebraska’s attempt to back Michigan State down in the post with over-sized point guard Sam Griesel or wide-bodied big man Derrick Walker were met by well-timed help defenders, whether it was digging guards of flash double-teams from big men. 

Michigan State spread the floor with accurate shooters and sharp ball movement in the first half.