Michigan State crushes New Orleans 101-48 behind Keith Appling's 27 points

keith-appling-michigan-state.jpg

Michigan State's Keith Appling equaled his season-high with 27 points in the Spartans 53-point win over New Orleans.

(AP Photo)

EAST LANSING - Tom Izzo said late this week that what he wanted to see most in Michigan State's final game before the Big Ten season gets underway was consistency.

The Spartans may have dominated New Orleans 101-48 on Saturday, but Izzo's consistency wish will have to wait.

No. 5 Michigan State (11-1) was forced to play without Branden Dawson (shin), who is just the latest Spartan to get hit with the injury bug. Izzo says this one appears to be minor and cautiously sat the junior, but the Spartans will need to get healthy quickly with two Big Ten road games looming in the next week.

Luckily for Izzo, Keith Appling is as consistent as ever. Appling tied his season-high with 27 points on 7-of-10 shooting. It was Appling's fifth game this season with more than 20 points.

The game remained close for the first 10 minutes with both teams struggling with their shots. Then Alex Gauna had his best two minutes of the season. He put a Russell Byrd missed free throw back up and in and cut hard for a two-handed dunk on the following possession to give Michigan State the lead for good at the 11 minute mark of the first half.

Making consistency even a bigger issue for Izzo was the frustrating foul trouble of Gauna and freshman Gavin Schilling. Both went to the bench in the first half with two fouls. Izzo finally went with previously suspended redshirt freshman Kenny Kaminski with 14 minutes to play in the second-half. Kaminski promptly drained a three. It was Kaminski's first game back since being suspended by Izzo following the Dec. 4 game against North Carolina.

The Spartans shot a whopping 54.5 percent from the floor. They led by 17 at the break and their lead never dropped below that mark. New Orleans (3-5) frankly disappeared in the second half.

Appling led all scorers with 27. Denzel Valentine had a double-double and led MSU with 13 rebounds. Matt Derenbecker led the Privateers with 16 points. Gary Harris, who started off the game shooting an ice cold 0-for-5 from the floor, continued to shoot until hot. He finished with 19 on 7-of-17 shooting.

Highlights

- Keith Appling broke the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season.

- Michigan State scored 90+ points for the fifth time this season. The 53-point margin of victory was the largest of the season.

- The Spartans had four players in double-digits. Appling had 27, Harris finished with 19, Adreian Payne added 17 and Valentine put up 10.

- With the Spartans down 8-6 in the first half, Payne went way above the rim to block Cory Dixon's shot from behind with authority.. The Spartans then found Appling for Michigan State's first three pointer to reclaim the lead.

- Unable to get any breathing room in the first 10 minutes, Denzel Valentine stretched MSU's first-half lead with one minute of perfect basketball. He got a three on one end, a steal on the other and then threw an assist inside to Payne on a frozen rope. The Spartan lead ballooned to 14.

- Kenny Kaminski, who hasn't played since Dec.4 due to suspension, entered the game in the second half and sunk a three on his first offensive possession.

- 12 different players scored for the Spartans, including walk-ons Colby Wollenman, Trevor Bohnhoff and Dan Chapman.

Lowlights

- With Branden Dawson unable to go (bruised shin) and Matt Costello still recovering from mono, MSU absolutely needed Gavin Schilling and Alex Gauna to not just step up, but to play with control. Both did the opposite, getting into early foul trouble (two each in the first half) and forcing Izzo to go with walk-on Colby Wollenman in the first half.

- Schilling picked up his fourth foul just 40 seconds into the second half and went to the bench. Not only did Izzo need the extra body, but Schilling really needed more experience before league play begins next week.

- Gary Harris struggled mightily early with his shot. MSU found Harris for four wide-open looks in the first four minutes and he missed all four.

- Travis Trice has missed some time with the blister issue, but that's no excuse for poor decision making. Izzo pleaded with Trice repeatedly to push the ball more.

What to watch for revisited

Tom Izzo was looking for more consistency after an injury-plagued month of December. He did not get it. Izzo chose to sit Dawson (shin) for precautionary reasons and early foul trouble for Gauna and Schilling forced Izzo to play more random lineups and unconventional personnel combinations in their final non-conference test.

Postgame question

What is your biggest concern with Michigan State heading into Big Ten play?

-- Download the MSU football MLive app for iPhone and Android
-- Download the MSU basketball on MLive app for iPhone and Android
-- Follow Gillian Van Stratt on Twitter

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.