This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
East Lansing, Mich. • Adreian Payne had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 9 Michigan State cruised past Northwestern 85-70 on Thursday night to stay tied atop the Big Ten.
The Spartans (21-4, 10-2) are even in the standings with rival Michigan — and those two teams meet in Ann Arbor on Feb. 23.
Gary Harris added 14 points for Michigan State, rebounding a bit from a poor shooting performance in a loss to Wisconsin last weekend. The Spartans shot 53 percent from the field against a Northwestern team that came in with a sterling defensive reputation.
The Wildcats (12-13, 5-7) had not allowed 80 points in a game in over a month.
Michigan State was without point guard Keith Appling, who has been bothered by a wrist injury.
No. 18 Creighton 68, Butler 63 • In Indianapolis, Doug McDermott scored 26 points and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 47.8 seconds left to give Creighton a win over Butler.
The Bluejays (20-4, 10-2 Big East) have won five of six and 15 of 17, and are now within a half game of No. 6 Villanova in the conference standings.
Kellen Dunham had 16 points and Alex Barlow added 13 for Butler (12-13, 2-11), which has lost four straight.
After leading most of the first half, Creighton found itself in a back-and-forth struggle most of the second half and couldn't fend off Butler's charges until McDermott hit the 3 to make it 64-63.