No Bridges, no problem as No. 4 Michigan St beats DePaul
Tom Izzo
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Matt McQuaid hit six 3-pointers and scored a career-high 20 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 Michigan State, playing without preseason All-American Miles Bridges, shook DePaul in the second half for a 73-51 win Thursday night in the opening round of the PK80 Invitational.
Bridges was out due to a sprained left ankle sustained last Sunday against Stony Brook, but McQuaid made up for the absence of the Spartans star. McQuaid's previous career high was 17 points and he had scored 16 total points in Michigan State's first three games this season in limited duty coming off the bench.
Without Bridges, the Spartans (3-1) struggled to shake the Blue Demons until early in the second half when DePaul went more than nine minutes without a field goal.
Eli Cain and Max Strus led DePaul (1-3) with 12 points apiece but the Blue Demons shot just 5 of 23 in the second half and were 0 of 4 on 3-point attempts.
DePaul shot only 25.5 percent for the game.
Bridges was injured in the second half of the 93-71 victory over Stony Brook and never ditched his warmup attire on Thursday. With the Big Ten preseason player of the year on the bench, the Spartans were missing 19.7 points and seven rebounds per game. And the Blue Demons appeared energized by the absence of Bridges. DePaul led 26-20 after an 11-0 run in the first half and went to halftime tied at 31 after Cain's long 3-pointer beat the first-half buzzer.
But Michigan State's defensive pressure increased in the second half and the Blue Demons wilted.
Joshua Langford's 3-pointer with 13:18 left gave the Spartans a 45-37 lead, matching their biggest advantage of the first half. Langford promptly picked up his fourth foul, but McQuaid came off a baseline screen and hit his fifth 3 of the game to push Michigan State's cushion to 48-37 with 12:07 remaining. The lead reached 24 late in the game.
THE TAKEAWAY
DePaul: The Blue Demons have opened the season with a difficult slate. DePaul's season opener came against No. 13 Notre Dame and the Blue Demons lost at Illinois last Friday before heading West. ... DePaul took the spot of Georgetown, which was originally part of the tournament field when it was announced last year.
Michigan State: While McQuaid rightfully got most of the attention stepping in for Bridges, the Spartans got a boost off the bench from Connor George. The sophomore had played four total minutes in two games, but played a career-high 16 minutes and had two points and seven rebounds.
UP NEXT
DePaul: The Blue Demons will play Oregon on Friday night.
Michigan State: The Spartans face UConn on Friday night.