No. 8 Michigan State 73, Nebraska 64: Keith Appling led a balanced offense with 16 points as the visiting Spartans pulled away from the Cornhuskers in the second half for their fifth straight victory.

Adreian Payne recorded 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for Michigan State (22-4, 11-2 Big Ten), which remained tied with Indiana atop the league. Derrick Nix added 13 points and 11 rebounds while Gary Harris scored 14 for the Spartans, who saw their lead trimmed to one in the second half but never trailed in the contest.

Dylan Talley registered a career-high 28 points and Shavon Shields collected 19 points and 13 rebounds for Nebraska (12-14, 3-10), which has dropped four of its last five. Second-leading scorer Ray Gallegos was 0-of-13 from the fieldand finished with one point.

Appling had 10 points as Michigan State led by as many as 11 in the first half. Nebraska forced 10 turnovers and edged its way back in it to trail 29-24 at intermission.

Shields scored 12 points in the first six minutes of the second half to pull Nebraska within 41-40. The Spartans responded with a 12-2 run, highlighted by a Harris 3-pointer, and the Cornhuskers did not get closer than seven the rest of the way.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Appling became the 43rd Michigan State player to score 1,000 points in his career – the 29th to accomplish it in three seasons. He has 1,001 points. … Nebraska, which was 8-of-24 from 3-point range, only received two points from its bench. … The Spartans, who finished with a season-best 12 blocks, host No. 2 Indiana on Tuesday.