Spartans score 100, again

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo wasn’t happy with a 50-point win in his 300th game.

The Spartans posted their third straight 100-point game in a 102-52 win over Nicholls State on Saturday. But Izzo’s 10th-ranked team will get a real test at No. 9 Duke in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday. That’s followed by a possible meeting with No. 13 Maryland in a tournament next weekend in Washington, D.C.

“I guess teams go through this all over the country when they play this kind of schedule,” Izzo said of a 104-72 rout over Florida A&M and 104-46 win against Wisconsin-Green Bay. “It has given us a false sense of security that, thank God, will end on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.”

Michigan State (3-0) had every reason to feel secure about the outcome against the Colonels (0-3). Maurice Ager scored 19 points, Kelvin Torbert added 16, Shannon Brown and Alan Anderson had 15 apiece and Paul Davis had 11 for a team that has averaged 103.3 points.

The game marked the 100th straight sellout in Breslin Center. Izzo is 210-90 in his 10th season.

(4) Syracuse 78, Siena 56: At Albany, N.Y., Gerry McNamara scored 29 points and Hakim Warrick grabbed 15 rebounds as the Orangemen (5-0) won their 29th straight game against an in-state opponent by defeating the Saints (0-5). Warrick and Josh Pace each scored 13 points for Syracuse, which held Siena to 32 percent shooting and outrebounded the Saints 54-29. Siena is off to the worst start in school history. Syracuse took an 18-2 lead in the first 5 minutes. McNamara, the Orange’s best outside threat, paced the early surge with a layup and his first career dunk after a steal and court-long dash. He then completed a four-point play after hitting his 200th career 3-pointer and finished 6 for 14 from long range.

(6) Oklahoma St. 73, Sam Houston St. 57: At Stillwater, Okla., Joey Graham scored 25 points, John Lucas III added 17 and the Cowboys (3-0) recovered from another subpar first half to beat the Bearkats (1-4). Graham scored 18 points in the second half, and Lucas had 14 of his 17 after the break to help the Cowboys overcame a six-point halftime deficit. Othello Alford led Sam Houston State with 13 points.

(9) Duke 98, North Carolina-Greensboro 44: At Durham, N.C., Shelden Williams had 16 points and 11 rebounds to help the Blue Devils (3-0) rout the Spartans (2-1). Daniel Ewing and J.J. Redick also scored 16 points for the Blue Devils, who built a 20-point lead midway through the first half and were never challenged. Kyle Hines scored nine points for the Spartans.

(16) Pittsburgh 93, Loyola, Md. 57: At Pittsburgh, Chevon Troutman and Chris Taft dominated the much-smaller Greyhounds (0-3) inside at both ends of the floor, and the Panthers (3-0) cruised to their third consecutive victory against weak opposition. The 6-foot-10 Taft and the 6-foot-7 Troutman were in control from the start against Loyola, which hasn’t had a winning season since going to the NCAA tournament in 1994 under current Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser. Troutman finished with 17 points and six rebounds, and Taft had 12 points and eight rebounds. Antonio Graves, sidelined for Pitt’s opener with a sore ankle, added 12 points and Ronald Ramon and Yuri Demetris scored 10 each.

Pepperdine 75, (20) Wisconsin 61: At Malibu, Calif., Glen McGowan scored 29 points to lead the Waves (4-1) to their fourth straight win, a victory over the Badgers (2-1). Alex Acker added 17 points and seven assists for the Waves, who defeated a ranked opponent for the first time since beating Gonzaga 88-79 on Jan. 8, 2002. Alando Tucker scored 18 points and Kammron Taylor added 15 for Wisconsin. With the score tied at 34 at the break, Pepperdine opened the second half with a 25-4 run, turning the close game into a runaway. The Badgers were scoreless for more than six minutes, turned the ball over nine times and shot 2 for 13 as Pepperdine built a 59-38 lead with 11:06 remaining.

(23) Florida 84, Providence 66: At Miami, Matt Walsh scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, helping the Gators (3-0) defeat the Friars (4-2) – the alma mater of Gators coach Billy Donovan. Anthony Roberson had 17 points, David Lee added 16 and Taurean Green 13 for the Gators, who never trailed. Ryan Gomes had 17 points for Providence, which was playing its third game in four days. Tuukka Kotti had a career-high 17 – 16 in the first half – for the Friars, who lost to No. 1 Wake Forest in Wednesday’s Preseason NIT semifinals, beat Michigan in Friday’s consolation game at Madison Square Garden, then boarded a charter flight to Miami and faced the Gators 17 hours after landing.