Adreian Payne's Career-High 41 Points Hoists Spartans over Delaware

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, March 20, 2014

A spate of upsets marked the traditional opening day of the tournament, but one team which held its ground was Michigan State, likely because the Delaware Blue Hens had no solutions for senior forward Adreian Payne, who scored a career-high 41 points in the Spartans' 93-78 triumph.

The 6'10" swingman was incredibly efficient in tear up the opponent, hitting 10 of 15 from the field, including four of five from three-point range and an impressive 17-for-17 mark at the foul line. Payne added eight boards and only turned the ball over twice, all in just 24 minutes of court time.

Coach Tom Izzo has his team as well-prepared for the tournament as usual, coming off the championship in the Big Ten tournament last week.

Michigan State, the #4 seed in the East region,will face upset winner Harvard in the next round, on Saturday. The 12th-seeded Crimson disposed of #5 seed Cincinnati, 61-57, essentially blowing up millions of brackets in the process.

Among the other upsets encountered on Thursday were Dayton's 60-59 win over Ohio State in the South region, an 11 over a six, and, West region #12 seed North Dakota State outing #5 Oklahoma, 80-75, in overtime.

Basically, three regions were blown up on Thursday, leaving only the Midwest unscathed, though #5 St. Louis had to come from 16 back in the second half to hold off #12 NC State in overtime, 83-80.

Adreian Payne Has Double-Double in Michigan State Win over Northwestern

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, February 13, 2014

Adreian Payne scored 20 points and snagged 14 rebounds, helping #8 Michigan State overwhelm Northwestern, 85-70.

Payne was 6-for-11, made two of three from beyond the arc and was 6-for-8 from the foul line. His 14 rebounds included four on the offensive end, to go with three assists, a steal and a block.

Michigan State improved to 21-4 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten, where they share the conference lead with Michigan.

Career-High 33 by Michigan State's Adreian Payne Leads Spartans over Longhorns

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, December 21, 2013

After traveling to Chapel Hill and topping North Carolina, 86-83, this past Wednesday, the 10-1 Texas Longhorns were brimming with confidence in advance of their home game with the #5 Michigan State Spartans.

Even after the first half, with the Longhorns taking a 38-36 lead into the locker room, there was plenty of reason for optimism, but that changed through the second half, as Adreian Payne, who scored Michigan State's first nine points of the game and finished with 14 in the first half, went on a tear, scoring 19 of his game-high 33 points in the second half and the Spartans made 16 of 20 free throws in the final six minutes to run away for the 92-78 victory.

The Spartans broke the game open midway through the second half. Down 52-54, Michigan State went on a 14-2 run capped by a pair of Payne free throws to establish a 66-56 lead with 7:26 left.

Payne was perfect inside the three-point arc, making 10 of 13 shots. His only misses were from the other side of the line, where he was 2-for-5 on three-point attempts. Adding 11 of 12 from the foul line, Payne, a 6'10" senior out of Dayton, Ohio, just missed his fifth double-double of the season, hauling down nine rebounds. He did manage to set a personal high mark with the 33-point outburst, eclipsing his previous best of 29, set just a month ago in a 96-77 win over Virginia Tech.

The result dropped the Longhorns to 10-2, while Michigan State improved to 10-1. Ironically, Michigan State's only loss was to North Carolina, a 79-65 setback. The Spartans are 3-0 on the road this season and have just one more game - at home, against the New Orleans Privateers on December 29 - before opeing Big Ten play at Penn State on New Year's Eve.

Adreian Payne Leads Michiagn State to 62-53 Win over Columbia

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, November 15, 2013

After Michigan State topped #1 Kentucky on Tuesday night, 78-74, there was little doubt that the Spartans would be ranked number one in the next poll, due out on Monday, November 18.

One little problem: the Spartans had a Friday night home game against the Columbia Lions, and, while they were expected to easily defeat the pushovers from the Ivy League, they still had to go out onto the court and play the game... you know, pass the ball, put ball into hoop, rebound, al that stuff.

After twenty minutes of an uninspired first half, the Spartans found themselves on the short end of a 26-22 score, and that, after taking an immediate, 9-0, lead in the first four minutes. For the next 16 minutes of the first half, Michagan State was outscored 26-13.

Coach Tom Izzo was obviously unpleased with the effort, but things went better for the Spartans in the second twenty minutes. Led by senior forward Adreian Payne, who scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, the Spartans - still a little sluggish - finally tied the score at 44-all midway through the second half and outscored the Lions 18-9 down the stretch for a not-so-magnificent, 62-53, victory.

In addition to his 26 points, Payne snatched 11 rebounds, made two steals and blocked three shots in 33 minutes of floor time. Only three Spartans were in double figures, and, they were surprisingly out-rebounded by Columbia, 31-27. The Spartans made no three-pointers (0-for-7), but caused 17 Lion turnovers while only coughing up the ball 11 times themselves. The game was really won on the foul line, where Michigan State was 22-for-30, as opposed to Columbia's paltry 8-for-11.

Next up for the 3-0, soon-to-be=#1 Spartans is another home game, Monday night against the Portland Pilots. That one is not supposed to be much of a problem either.