East Lansing — Michigan State intended to get back to its roots in order to pull itself out of a three-game tailspin.
For the Spartans, that means defending, rebounding and running. They got all of that on Saturday afternoon in a 79-55 victory over Minnesota at the Breslin Center.
No. 9 Michigan State held Minnesota to 37 percent shooting while limiting leading scorer Amir Coffey to four points as he went scoreless for the first 31 minutes. The Spartans also outrebounded the Golden Gophers, 38-33, and outscored them in transition, 20-7.
Nick Ward, who was pulled from the starting lineup in Tuesday’s loss to Illinois, responded by scoring 22 points and pulling down nine rebounds.