Watkins scores 28 as 4th-ranked USC beats No. 22 Michigan State

LOS ANGELES (AP) — JuJu Watkins scored 28 points, Kiki Iriafen added 24 points and 10 rebounds and fourth-ranked Southern California defeated No. 22 Michigan State 83-75 on Wednesday night.

Watkins, who leads the Big Ten in scoring at 24.3 points per game, has six games this season with at least 28 points for the Trojans (24-2, 14-1 Big Ten), who are 7-1 against ranked teams.

Grace VanSlooten tied a career high with 29 points and Julia Ayrault had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Michigan State (19-7, 9-6), which fell to 2-4 against ranked teams. The Spartans lost at then top-ranked UCLA 75-69 on Sunday.

USC had a 21-point lead late in the third quarter before Michigan State made things interesting in the fourth. The Spartans went on a 15-4 run to get within 74-68 with four minutes remaining before a jumper by Kennedy Smith and fast break layup by Watkins pushed the Trojans’ lead back into double digits.

Takeaways

Michigan State: The Spartans came into the game averaging 7.2 made 3-pointers per game, but were 1 of 13 from beyond the arc.

USC: With the win, the Trojans clinched a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament. They remain in first place in the conference with two regular-season games remaining.

Key moment

Michigan State had a 6-4 lead three minutes into the game before USC took control with a 13-2 run that included five points by Watkins and Smith’s four free throws.

Key stat

Michigan State had 14 steals, including seven in the fourth quarter. The Spartans came into the game eighth in the nation, averaging 12.3 steals.

Up next

Both teams have home games on Sunday. Michigan State faces Indiana and USC has its last regular-season home game against No. 25 Illinois.

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