SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Cormac Ryan scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half as Notre Dame cruised to a 70-52 win over No. 20 Michigan State on Wednesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
He made all six of his 3-point attempts to tie a school record for most 3's without a miss in a game. Ryan helped the Fighting Irish (6-1) jump out to a 42-24 halftime lead.
JJ Starling added 14 points and Dane Goodwin 12 for the Irish, who led 39-16 by the 4:33 mark of the first half and didn’t commit their first turnover until more than 17 minutes into the game.
The Spartans (5-3) were paced by A.J. Hoggard with 15 points. Joey Hauser and Tyson Walker added 12 apiece.
BIG PICTURE
Michigan State: In their first true road test, the Spartans faltered, appearing far less energetic than the hosts. Regardless, they’ve shown plenty of promise early in the season with a neutral-site double-overtime win over then-No. 4 Kentucky and a one-point neutral-site loss to then No. 2-Gonzaga. Without senior forward Malik Hall — expected to be out another two-plus weeks due to a stress reaction in his left foot — MSU has slipped of late, though, going 2-2.
Notre Dame: The Irish, coming off a 63-51 loss to St. Bonaventure last weekend, delivered an authoritative bounce-back. MSU represented potentially ND’s only opportunity outside of conference play to take down a ranked team. The win moved them to 4-30 against rated opponents over the last five-plus seasons.
UP NEXT
Michigan State: The Spartans, though they still have three non-league games remaining as well, open Big Ten play Sunday evening by hosting Northwestern (5-2).
Notre Dame: The Irish, also despite having three non-conference games left, start ACC play Saturday afternoon by welcoming Syracuse (3-4).
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