No. 22 Penn State Upsets Cassius Winston, No. 16 Michigan State in Big Ten Play

The No. 22 Penn State Nittany Lions upset the No. 16 Michigan State Spartans, defeating them 75-70 at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan, on Tuesday night.

The Nittany Lions extended their winning streak to five games, which includes victories over Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana, as well as its first win at Nebraska since 1995. Per The Athletic's Brendan Quinn, Penn State is the first Big Ten team to win at Michigan and Michigan State in the same season since 2012-13 when Indiana did it.

The Nittany Lions shot 73.7 percent from the free-throw line, and senior forward Lamar Stevens made them when they counted most down the stretch.

Michigan State, down 69-68, sent Stevens to the line with 16 seconds left in regulation. He extended PSU's lead to 71-68. That was even more clutch when Spartans senior guard Cassius Winston, the game's leading scorer, bucketed a layup at the 11-second mark. Winston missed the ensuing and-1 free throw that would have tied the game.

Stevens yet again sunk both his free throws with 9.1 seconds to go, which proved to be all Penn State needed to secure the upset as Winston missed a three-point attempt with six ticks until the final buzzer.

The Nittany Lions improved to 17-5 (7-4 in the Big Ten). Penn State's only loss to a ranked opponent came against Ohio State, ranked No. 6 at the time, on Dec. 7. 

The Spartans dropped to 16-7 overall (8-4 in the Big Ten) and 10-2 at home. Their other home loss came against Duke on Dec. 3.

Michigan State will have a shot at revenge on March 3 at Bryce Jordan Center.

Notable Performances

PSU F Lamar Stevens: 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

PSU G Myreon Jones: 20 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal

PSU F Mike Watkins: 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block

MSU G Cassius Winston: 25 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal

MSU F Xavier Tillman: 9 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5 blocks

MSU F Malik Hall: 5 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals

Lamar Stevens, Myreon Jones Lead Nittany Lions to Historic Victory

Stevens fell just short of his season high (27) with 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field (1-of-3 from three), but it was his free-throw shooting that ultimately propelled Penn State to its first win at Michigan State in 11 years. Notably, he entered this matchup ranked fifth on the team in free-throw percentage (70.9) this season:

Stevens, who moved into third all-time on PSU's career scoring list on Jan. 29, leads the Nittany Lions with 16.5 points per game. He was complemented by the team's second-leading scorer, Jones (13.8 points per game). It marked the second time during this winning streak that Jones and Stevens each bucketed at least 20 points.

As clutch as Stevens' free throws were, Jones drained five first-half threes to set the tone for the Nittany Lions. The sophomore guard finished 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-8 from three-point range.

Jones and Stevens were joined by reserve senior forward Watkins (10 points) as the only double-digit scorers for Penn State, but it was a collective effort by Penn State to notch the program's first five-game winning streak against Big Ten competition:

And those outside Happy Valley are taking notice:

Penn State hasn't made the NCAA tournament since the 2010-11 season. Head coach Patrick Chambers, who took over the following season, has the Nittany Lions well on their way.

Cassius Winston's 12th 20-Point Scoring Outing Falls Short

Winston hit two three-pointers within the final 11 seconds of the Spartans' 64-63 loss to Wisconsin on Saturday, and the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year came up just short in similar fashion against Penn State.

The Detroit native finished 3-of-11 from three, but he hit one with 5:33 left in the game to put Michigan State up 66-63:

However, the Spartans did not score again until Henry hit a Winston-assisted jumper five minutes later. 

Winston had a chance to tie the game at 71 but missed the tying free throw after sinking a driving layup with 11 seconds to go. The problem, though, was not Winston's missed free throw, but rather the fact Winston was Michigan State's only double-digit scorer. 

More broadly, the Spartans needed more from players not named Cassius Winston:

The Spartans have gone 2-3 in their last five outings and should be plenty motivated to play better collectively with a matchup against Michigan looming on Saturday afternoon.

What's Next? 

Both teams will return to the floor on Saturday.

Michigan State will go to the Crisler Center to take on the in-state rival Michigan Wolverines in the morning, and Penn State will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the afternoon.