No. 18 Michigan State 66, Nebraska 56: Derrick Nix scored 17 points and Adreian Payne had 14 as the host Spartans needed a late push to win the Big Ten game.

Branden Dawson contributed 12 points and Gary Harris, Jr. scored five of his nine in the crucial final two minutes for Michigan State (14-3, 3-1 Big Ten). Keith Appling, the team’s leading scorer on the season, overcame a slow start to score all eight of his points in the second half and distribute a team-high nine assists.

David Rivers scored 18 points, Dylan Talley had 17 points and eight rebounds and Ray Gallegos scored 12 for Nebraska (9-8, 0-4).

The teams were tied at 32 after a back-and-forth first half and continued to trade leads until Harris ended his team's four-minute field-goal drought by sinking a 3-pointer with 1:51 remaining to give the Spartans a 58-54 lead.

Harris then stole the ball from Shavon Shields at the other end of the floor, leading to two free throws by Nix and a six-point advantage. Another steal by Michigan State and two more free throws by Harris with 45 seconds left pushed the lead to eight.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Payne made his second 3-pointer on the fifth attempt of his three-year career early in the second half to give the Spartans a 39-38 lead. … Nebraska learned Friday it would be without Brandon Ubel, the team’s leading rebounder (6.8) and third-leading scorer (12.1), who is sidelined indefinitely with a fractured right elbow. With the loss of Ubel, the Cornhuskers had just six players who played regular minutes this season. … Michigan State remained in a second-place tie in conference play with No. 2 Michigan, No. 10 Minnesota and No. 14 Ohio State.