Nick Ward matched his season high with 22 points and Michigan State beat Nebraska on Sunday in East Lansing, Mich., in the Big Ten opener for both teams.

The Spartans (7-1) have won six straight since losing to top-ranked Duke, beating each team by at least 18 points.

Jaren Jackson had 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, Cassius Winston scored 16 points and had seven assists, and Miles Bridges added 12 points for the Spartans.

James Palmer led the Cornhuskers (6-3) with 15 points.

Geben powers Irish: It’s the kind of game No. 5 Notre Dame has been waiting to see from 6-foot-10 senior center Martinas Geben — his first career double-double in a 71-53 victory over St. Francis (Brooklyn) in South Bend, Ind.

Fighting Irish coach Mike Brey and All-America forward Bonzie Colson would have preferred not to see the final 6 minutes, 2 seconds in the locker room, watching on Colson’s cellphone after both were ejected.

“It’s nice to have a passionate coach who is not going to back down and is going to stand up for us, but he needs to stay a little more composed,” Geben, who is from Lithuania, joked after the Irish (7-1) rebounded from their first loss of the year, an 81-63 defeat against No. 3 Michigan State on Thursday.

“This double-double could be a habit if he gets his minutes,” Brey said after notching his 389th victory at Notre Dame, leaving him four shy of tying Digger Phelps as the school’s all-time leader in men’s basketball.

Layups: Desi Rodriguez had 29 points, including an off-balance bank shot with 8 seconds remaining, to rally Seton Hall to a 79-77 upset of No. 17 Louisville. ... Luke Maye had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 13 North Carolina routed Tulane 97-73. ... A.J. Davis made the go-ahead free throw with 25 seconds left, then Terrell Allen got the steal on the following possession by No. 24 Alabama and fired the ball to Dayon Griffinfor an easy layup that sealed Central Florida’s 65-62 upset. AP