Three days after blowing out Washington in the Breslin Center, the #16 Michigan State Spartans (14-2, 5-0 Big Ten) hit the road for a Sunday matinee with the Northwestern Wildcats (10-6, 1-4 Big Ten). After a tightly contested opening ten minutes, the Spartans used a combination of air-tight defense and interior dominance to run the Wildcats out of the building, winning 78-68 to clinch their ninth consecutive victory.
After a back-and-forth ten minutes to open the game, the Spartans closed the half on a 30-12 run to take a 47-28 lead into the halftime break. The Spartans dominated the interior in the half, outsourcing the Wildcats 22-8 in the paint and outrebounding Northwestern 19-14. Michigan State, plagued by turnovers at times this season, took care of the ball well in the first half with only 3 turnovers in the game’s opening 20 minutes.
Northwestern came out of the break running in the second half, cutting the Spartans’ 19-point halftime lead down to 9 with two minutes remaining. The Wildcats clawed their way back into the game thanks to foul trouble on the Spartans’ part and a larger focus on interior scoring. Northwestern scored 18 points in the paint in the second half. However, Michigan State’s halftime lead was too big to overcome in the half, and the Wildcats’ comeback bid ultimately fell short.
Michigan State Spartans’ Tale of Two Halves
Despite a red-hot first half, Michigan State struggled to put the game to bed in the second half. After shooting 62.1% from the field and only committing 3 turnovers in the first half, the Spartans played a sloppy second half, only connecting on 36.0% of their shot attempts and turning the ball over 8 times. Foul trouble in the second half was also a factor in Michigan State’s second-half struggles, with the Spartans committing 14 fouls after halftime.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo commented on the disparity between the halves after the game, crediting Northwestern for the comeback:
“We came out and played maybe our best half of basketball… but that second half… the respect goes to their program… that’s the best compliment you can give. That was a culture program statement.”
Izzo also complimented the Wildcats’ ability to get to the free throw line in the second half:
“They’re very good at drawing fouls, those guys are really strong. [Nick] Martinelli, he’s hard to cover… he’s got strength, he’s got guard skills.”
Nick Martinelli lead Northwestern with 27 points, including 9/12 shooting from the free throw line.
Tom Izzo’s Spartans Don’t Need Three-Pointers To Win
It’s been well-documented this season that the Spartans have struggled shooting the three-ball. They’ve made only 28.4% of their three-point attempts so far this season, the worst percentage in the Big Ten and 352nd in all of Division I.
With that in mind, it doesn’t seem like they need to shoot well from deep to win so far this season. Michigan State is 14-2, with their only losses coming against teams currently ranked in the AP’s Top 25 (Kansas and Memphis). They’re undefeated in Big Ten conference play, and are holding opponents to 39.5% shooting from the field while while posting a +10.9 rebounding differential per night. With defense and rebounding like that, the Spartans can be a serious threat in the Big Ten and in March Madness whether the three-ball is falling or not.
The Michigan State Spartans will host the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) on January 13 before a ranked showdown with #13 Illinois (12-4, 4-2 Big Ten) on January 19. The Northwestern Wildcats will play the Maryland Terrapins (12-4, 2-3 Big Ten) on January 16 at home before hitting the road for a game against the Michigan Wolverines (13-3, 5-0 Big Ten) on January 19.
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