Michigan St. Spartans vs Butler Bulldogs Match Player Stats On Nov 17, 2021

Gabe Brown had 19 points and six rebounds to lead Michigan State to a 73-52 win over Butler as part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games Wednesday night in Indianapolis.

Max Christie had 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and Marcus Bingham Jr. added 10 points, six rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots for Michigan State (2-1), which won its second straight following a season-opening loss to Kansas.

Ty Groce scored 15 points and Chuck Harris added 13 for Butler (3-1).

Michigan State won handily despite committing 20 turnovers and shooting just 33.3 percent from 3-point range (8-for-24).

The Spartans were able to compensate by outrebounding Butler 41-25, making 15 of 25 shots from 2-point range and shooting 19-for-24 from the free-throw line.

Butler shot 28.6 percent (16-for-56) from the field.

Leading 34-28 with 18:25 remaining, Michigan State gained some separation with a 13-2 run over a span of 5:49 to take a 47-30 lead with 12:38 to play.

Butler cut Michigan State's lead to 54-41 with 7:27 left, but Michigan State scored the next five points to take a 59-41 lead with 5:18 remaining.

Michigan State then took a 20-point lead at 64-44 with 3:48 remaining following a banked 3-pointer by Malik Hall.

Butler answered with a 7-0 run to shave its deficit to 64-51 with 2:12 left, but four straight free throws made by the Spartans gave them a 68-51 lead with 1:46 and all but put the game away.

Michigan State got off to a strong start, jumping out to a 22-8 lead with 10:47 remaining in the first half.

The Spartans held a 30-19 lead with 3:08 left until halftime when Butler made a bit of a surge, cutting Michigan State's lead to 31-23 at halftime.

-- Field Level Media