With the shot clock winding down late in the first half of Saturday's Penn State men's basketball game against Michigan State, Spartan guard Travis Walton launched a prayer from 24 feet away in an attempt to beat the buzzer.

As the shot fell in, the already-shocked Nittany Lion faithful released a collective sigh, which silenced almost any hope of a comeback.

The largest Bryce Jordan Center crowd since 2001 was witness to a harsh reality check for the entire Penn State men's basketball program (10-8, 1-4 Big Ten). The Lions were out-hustled, out-muscled and simply out-classed by the rebuilding Spartans as Michigan State (16-4, 3-2 Big Ten) cruised to an easy 91-64 win.

The energetic crowd was quieted quickly as the Spartans jumped out to a fast-paced 12-4 lead less than five minutes into the contest. This left the blue-and-white clad fans searching for something to cheer for, but they were never given the opportunity.

"It's just a very disappointing way to play. It was just a whole different effort level [from the Indiana game]," a shocked head coach Ed DeChellis said after the game. "I can't even describe how I feel."

While the Lions could do almost nothing right, the Spartans shot a sizzling 68 percent from the field and were perfect (13-13) from the foul line.

"This is the best we've played all year. [The lopsided score] wasn't because of [Penn State], it was because we put a lot into the week," Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said while noting his empathy for the Lions and DeChellis. "It was just one of those days when we shot well and I feel for Penn State on that, because we haven't been doing that."

Michigan State was the third straight Penn State opponent to come into a game shooting poorly and leave on fire. Some might consider it an unfortunate coincidence, but senior point guard Ben Luber has an easier and more up front explanation.

"That's not really bad luck, that's bad defense and bad playing," Luber said.

All day long, Penn State's defenders had trouble finding and stopping Spartan junior Drew Neitzel. The All-Big Ten guard scorched the Lions for 28 points and ran his career shooting percentage against Penn State to 60 percent.

And as if things couldn't have gotten any worse for the Lions, even on the rare occasions when Michigan State did miss, offensive rebounds and second-chance points were the norm.

For the third game in a row, Penn State was outrebounded, this time by 14, including a 23-7 Spartan advantage on the defensive glass.

Sophomore forward Jamelle Cornley was upset with the performance, especially on the boards, and he hinted that the problems might be as mental as they are physical for the undersized Lions.

"I just think that some of us are too chill. Some of us think the ball is just going to bounce to us. We have to go after things, we can't just let things come to us," Penn State's leading scorer with 21 points said. "We're not talented enough for things to just happen, that we can go out there and show up and people are going to lay down for us. It's not going to happen."

It was a giant step backward for a team and program that many felt was on the cusp of breaking into the upper half of the Big Ten. The coaches and players said the days of Penn State being on the losing end of a blowout were over, but then the Spartans sent a shock wave through Nittany Nation and brought back memories of Penn State's past.

"It stunned me," DeChellis said. "Teams will beat us, especially on the road, but to be quite honest with you, I thought we were beyond a thrashing like this. This was a thorough beating from start to finish."

Notes & Quotes: For the first time in his Penn State career, senior David Jackson did not start. DeChellis said the team was looking for a spark off of the bench and felt Jackson gave them the best opportunity.

"We thought we needed a little change, a little flow, not that [Jackson] did anything poorly," DeChellis said. "We thought that Mooch might come in and give us a little lift off the bench defensively and offensively, but obviously that didn't pan out."