Michigan State survived a scare in its first road game of the season.

The No. 9 Spartans (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten) made enough plays down the stretch to hang on for a 76-72 win at Penn State (8-3, 0-2) on Saturday.

Here are quick takeaways and observations from the game:

– Following practice on Thursday, coach Tom Izzo again brought up the team’s shooting guard struggles and said Divine Ugochukwu would get a crack at the spot. The move from being the backup point guard to playing off the ball led to a career-high 23 points in his first start for the Spartans.

This was a game Michigan State could have easily lost if not for Ugochukwu stepping up early and late while making all five 3-point attempts to set a new career high. The last was the biggest as the Miami transfer knocked one down

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