East Lansing, MI (My Sportsbook) - Chris Allen scored 22 points and Kalin Lucas added 15, as second-ranked Michigan State gave head coach Tom Izzo a record-tying victory in a 90-60 rout of Valparaiso at the Breslin Center.
Izzo picked up his 340th career victory with Michigan State to tie Jud Heathcote as the winningest coach in school history. Izzo owns a record of 340-137 with the Spartans.
Delvon Roe added 10 points with career highs of 17 rebounds and four blocks for Michigan State (4-0), which shot 55.2 percent and held a 45-31 edge on the boards. Durrell Summers chipped in 10 points in the victory.
The Spartans will head to Atlantic City next weekend for the championship rounds of the Legends Classic. They will face Florida on Friday before taking on either Rutgers or Massachusetts on Saturday.
Brandon Wood had a game-high 24 points for Valparaiso (1-3), which has also played nationally-ranked North Carolina. The Crusaders had a better showing last Sunday in Chapel Hill, falling just 88-77.
Lucas drilled a three-pointer to start the game and added two free throws soon after for a quick 5-0 lead, but the Crusaders answered with five straight. The Spartans then scored 15 of the next 17 points and never looked back.
A three-point play by Raymar Morgan ignited the burst and Allen added a three- pointer before two free throws by Roe gave Michigan State a 20-7 cushion.
Lucas drained two from the stripe with 5:17 left in the first half to give the Spartans a 20-point margin at 38-18, and the lead reached as many as 24 before State settled for a 46-28 advantage at the break.
The Crusaders got only as close as 15 early in the second half.
Game Notes
Heathcote, who led Michigan State to the national championship in 1979 with Magic Johnson, was 340-220 with the Spartans. Both Heathcote and Johnson were set to be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday night in Kansas City...The Spartans improved to 4-1 all-time against Valparaiso. The last meeting produced a 65-38 Michigan State victory in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament, which propelled the Spartans to the national title.
