No. 1 Michigan State 82, Portland 67: Keith Appling led the way with 25 points and the Spartans pulled away in the second half to ground the Pilots.

Gary Harris added 15 points and Adreian Payne collected 19 points and seven rebounds for Michigan State (4-0), which was playing its first game as the No. 1 team in the country since the 2000-01 season. Appling went 5-of-5 from beyond the arc and added seven assists for the Spartans.

Kevin Bailey scored half of his 12 points at the free-throw line and Ryan Nicholas added 11 points as Portland (1-2) suffered its second straight setback. Bobby Sharp hit a trio of 3-pointers off the bench to lead the reserves.

Michigan State, which struggled to pull away from Columbia last time out, had similar trouble against the Pilots and went into the half clinging to a 36-32 lead. Portland tied it at 46 on Volodymyr Gerun’s free throw with 12:43 left but never managed to take the lead in the second half.

Travis Trice knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Spartans back on top and turned a steal into a layup on the next possession to make it a five-point gap. Appling hit one 3-pointer and Harris drained another two on three straight possessions as Michigan State began to pull away, and Trice’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 69-54 with 6:42 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Spartans have won 73 straight home games against unranked non-conference foes. … The contest was part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The Spartans will play in the championship rounds of that tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Nov. 22-23. … The Pilots are surrendering an average of 81.3 points in the last three games.