Miles Bridges and Nick Ward had 15 points and nine rebounds apiece, and Michigan State rolled into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament by breezing past weary Penn State 78-51 Thursday.
The fifth-seeded Spartans (19-13) will next face No. 4 seed Minnesota on Friday. Michigan State, the defending Big Ten champion, is seeking its fourth title in the last six years.
After closing the regular season with losses at Illinois and Maryland, the Spartans found their groove against a Penn State team playing for the second time in less than 24 hours.
The 13th-seeded Nittany Lions (15-18) fell behind for good with less than four minutes elapsed, trailed by 18 at halftime and sputtered to the finish after taking out Nebraska in overtime on Wednesday.
Tony Carr and Lamar Stevens each scored 16 points for Penn State, but they combined to miss 23 shots.
Penn State shot 29 percent and was outrebounded 44-29.
