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Carson Cooper scores 19 points and No. 10 Michigan State beats struggling Oregon 68-52

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Carson Cooper scored 19 points and No. 10 Michigan State won its fifth straight game, 68-52 over struggling Oregon on Tuesday night.

Coen Carr added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Spartans (17-2, 7-1 Big Ten), whose lone conference loss this season was to undefeated Nebraska.

Takai Simpkins scored 15 points for the Ducks (8-11, 1-7), who have lost five straight.

The Ducks were without two of their biggest playmakers. Senior center Nate Bittle was sidelined after injuring his ankle in a 90-55 loss at Nebraska last week. The 7-footer, who was averaging 16.3 points, is expected to be out for a month.

Jackson Shelstad, who was averaging 15.6 points, has not played since he injured his hand in a game against Omaha on Dec. 28 and appears likely to miss the rest of the season.

Michigan State, which was coming off an 80-63 win at Washington on Saturday, jumped out to a 13-4 lead, but the Ducks responded, pulling in front 22-21 on Luke Johnson’s layup. The Spartans held a 28-26 lead at the break.

Kwame Evans Jr. hit a jumper and Ege Demir added a layup to put the Ducks up 38-35. The Spartans answered with consecutive baskets from Carson Cooper and Trey Fort to reclaim the lead.

The Spartans began to pull away midway through the half, taking a 53-42 lead on Carr’s layup with 7:17 left. Michigan State led by 18 points down the stretch.

The Spartans won both meetings with the Ducks last season and improved to 5-2 against Oregon.

Up next

Michigan State hosts Maryland on Saturday.

Oregon visits rival Washington in Seattle on Sunday.

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Hawkeyes are set to play Vanderbilt in a November women’s basketball game in Sioux City, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — Vanderbilt and Iowa, both ranked in the top 10 late last season, will meet in a women's basketball game early next season in northwest Iowa, the schools announced Tuesday. The neutral-site game is set for Nov. 15 at the Tyson Events Center, which is 290 miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Vanderbilt is 4-0 all-time against the Hawkeyes. This will be the teams' first meeting since 1997. The Commodores are expected to return national scoring leader Mikayla Blakes. She averaged 27 points per game and was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Vanderbilt was ranked as high as No. 5 and finished No. 10 with a 29-5 record after reaching the NCAA Sweet 16.
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