Michigan St. Spartans vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score on Dec 28, 2020

Marcus Carr had 19 points, five assists and four rebounds as Minnesota sent reeling Michigan State to its worst start in Big Ten play in 19 seasons with an 81-56 romp on Monday at Minneapolis.

Liam Robbins supplied 18 points and nine rebounds for No. 21 Minnesota (9-1, 2-1 Big Ten), which never trailed as the battle of Top 25 teams quickly turned into a rout. Brandon Johnson added nine points and seven rebounds for the Golden Gophers.

No. 17 Michigan State (6-3, 0-3) has lost its first three conference games for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Aaron Henry led the Spartans with 11 points and three assists while A.J. Hoggard contributed nine points. Malik Hall and Foster Loyer added eight points apiece.

The Spartans were held to 25.7 percent shooting from the field and 24 percent on 3-point attempts. The Golden Gophers shot 47.6 percent from the floor, though they also made just 24 percent of their 3-point tries.

Michigan State went scoreless for nearly six minutes late in the first half and trailed 36-16 at halftime.

The Spartans made just 6 of 38 field-goal attempts before the break and no player made more than one basket. Neither team shot it well from distance, as Michigan State was 2-for-12 before halftime and Minnesota was 3-for-12.

Minnesota led 22-11 when the Spartans' long drought began. Michigan State missed 12 consecutive field-goal tries before Josh Langford knocked down a 3-pointer. In between, the Gophers went on a 9-0 run, including two baskets by Robbins and a three-point play by Gabe Kalscheur.

Robbins topped the Golden Gophers with 12 first-half points and Carr had eight, including a 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer.

It only got uglier for the Spartans in the second half. A 9-0 Minnesota spurt early in the half stretched its lead to 47-21. That stretch started with a 3-pointer by Kalscheur. Johnson followed with another long ball, and added a Both Gach three-point play completed the outburst.

Hoggard finally answered for Michigan State with a basket.

Robbins' first hoop of the second half, a jump hook in the lane, made it 55-33 with 12:04 remaining.

--Field Level Media