The Michigan State men's basketball team continued its positive momentum on Wednesday night and won at Penn State by a final score of 80-72.

The Spartans earned a much-needed road win in Happy Valley, which is just the team's second true road win on the year, improving MSU's record to 2-5 in away games.

Looking to build on the massive resume win against Illinois on Saturday, Michigan State traveled to Penn State on Wednesday with one thing on its mind: another victory. The team was focused and accomplished its goal of getting a win on the road.

Penn State came out with a hungry approach, hitting a few baskets early and blocking multiple Michigan State shots to lead 7-2 with 17 minutes to go in the first half.

Michigan State struggled to get any offensive tempo going in the first six minutes, with a turnover from center Carson Cooper and an offensive foul from guard Tre Holloman. The Spartans continued to try and push the tempo of the game with a quick dunk from forward Coen Carr and two made free throws from Cooper to cut the PSU lead to one point, 10-9, with 13:23 remaining in the first half.

Michigan State would go on to take a six-point lead with 11:42 to go in the first half, 16-10.

The Spartans continued to push the tempo of the game, scoring another two baskets from forward Malik Hall to take a 22-13 lead with 9:18 to go in the first stanza. He finished the first half with nine points.

With 6:33 left to go in the first half, MSU extended its lead to 30-18 with baskets from Cooper, guard Jaden Akins and Hall

Akins could not be stopped in the first half. He had 16 points with a ferocious fast-break slam dunk and four made 30-pointers. His fourth triple extended the Spartans' lead to 38-23 with just over four minutes to go in the first half.

Freshman forward Xavier Booker got into the mix with a couple quick made shots and a couple of great defensive stops in the first half to push Michigan State's lead to 43-26 with 2:29 to play before halftime. Many fans were wondering when Booker would get his opportunity, and he had a good showing in limited minutes (five) on Wednesday.

Cooper got involved early and often against the Nittany Lions. He finished the first half with eight points and two rebounds.

Penn State shot 14 3-pointers in the first half, finishing these attempts at a 42.9% efficiency by making six of them.

Penn State and Michigan State traded baskets going into halftime. However, the Spartans were able to take a 14-point lead into the locker rooms at 45-31.

Michigan State started off the second half by giving up a 7-0 run and Penn State cutting the lead to just eight points with 17:15 to go.

Guard Tyson Walker extended the lead to 56-43 with a tear drop basket in the lane with just over 13 minutes to go in the second half. Walker finished with six second half points after scoreless in the first half. He snapped a 35-game streak of scoring in double-digits, but Walker's teammates were able pick up the slack in the scoring department against the Nittany Lions.

But, the Nittany Lions would quickly respond with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 10 points with 11:45 to go.

Hall continued to perform in the second half, finishing with a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds on 10-for-12 shooting. Penn State continued to make a slow comeback, with two free throws by Ace Baldwin Jr. to cut MSU's lead to eight at 10:21 to go.

But, Michigan State would continue to push the agenda behind Hall and Walker to extend the lead back out to 14 points with 8:51 to go. Hall's 3-pointer with just over seven minutes to go gave MSU the 69-55 lead.

Michigan State would never relinquish its lead from there, and went on to win by the aforementioned final score of 80-72.

Even with a quiet night for Walker, the team's leading scorer at 18.4 points per game, the Spartans were still able to defeat Penn State by eight points.

Hall led all scorers with his aforementioned 29 points, while Akins chipped in 20 points and Cooper tied a career-high with 10 points.

The eight turnovers were pivotal in Michigan State's win on Wednesday night, and on the season as a whole, this is the lowest turnover percentage for a Tom Izzo-coached team since 2000. The Spartans have been able to take care of the ball all year long.

The Spartans improve to 16-9 overall after starting the season at 4-5 and improve to 8-6 in the Big Ten. Road wins have been hard to get for MSU this year, but the Spartans were able to get one on Wednesday night.

Penn State falls to 12-13 overall, with a 6-8 conference record. The Nittany Lions will head to Nebraska on Saturday at noon.

Michigan State has also swept Penn State in the 2023-2024 season, going 2-0 against the Nittany Lions.

Next up, Michigan State will take on the rival Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Saturday night (8 p.m. on FOX).

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