Michigan State 70, Indiana 50: Branden Dawson posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds as the host Spartans pounded the Hoosiers for their first Big Ten victory.

Denzel Valentine tallied 15 points, six boards and four assists for Michigan State (10-5, 1-1 Big Ten), which avoided its first 0-2 start in conference play since 2006-07. Gavin Schilling chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds for the Spartans, who recorded 21 assists on their 28 field goals, held Indiana to a season-low 28.3 percent shooting and won the rebounding battle 50-28.

Yogi Ferrell went 6-of-16 from the field and scored 17 points but was the only Hoosier that enjoyed any kind of offensive success as Indiana (11-4, 1-1) suffered its third straight loss in the series. Freshman James Blackmon Jr. – the fifth-leading scorer in the conference at 17.2 points per game entering Monday – shot 1-of-14 and posted his second consecutive eight-point game.

Michigan State forced Indiana into an early five-plus minute field-goal drought to build a 13-2 lead before Ferrell scored with 12:46 to go. The Hoosiers, who were 5-of-28 from the field in the opening 20 minutes, only trailed by 10 with just under six minutes to play before Dawson and Valentine scored the first 11 points of a half-ending 13-4 surge to give the Spartans a 36-17 advantage at the break.

Ferrell, who accounted for three of his team’s first-half field goals, stopped another long field-goal drought of more than 7 1/2 minutes spanning both halves with a 3-pointer to temporarily bring the Indiana deficit to less than 20, but seven straight points from Valentine sparked an 11-0 run and extended the Spartans’ margin to 50-20 with a little more than 13 minutes remaining. The Hoosiers hit seven of their next nine shots to make the score more respectable, but could get no closer than 16.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Michigan State has won 10 of the 13 meetings since Tom Crean was named coach at Indiana in 2008. … Indiana finished 5-of-24 beyond the arc, marking the first time this season it failed to hit at least seven 3-pointers. … The Spartans collected as many offensive rebounds as the Hoosiers did defensive rebounds (17).