EAST LANSING, Mich. _ The future is now. And it might be the only way Michigan State is going to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans' four freshmen helped put together a big run to end the first half and kept adding to it after to drive MSU to an 88-72 victory over Nebraska on Thursday at Breslin Center.
Miles Bridges, Nick Ward, Joshua Langford and Cassius Winston combined for 17 points during a 21-5 surge before halftime, which featured a display of everything exciting and none of the inconsistency the rookie quartet has shown this season.
The freshmen combined for 64 points and 20 rebounds in the game. Ward had 20 points and nine rebounds, Bridges finished with 20 points and five boards, and Langford scored a career-high 17 with five rebounds. Winston added seven points and nine assists.
The Spartans (17-11, 9-6 Big Ten) led by as many as 24 in the second half, though the Cornhuskers (12-14, 6-8) didn't go away easily. It was similar to MSU's 72-61 win in Lincoln on Feb. 2 in which the four freshmen all scored nine or more points.
MSU's 88 points were the most it's scored in Big Ten play since getting 93 against Rutgers on Jan. 4. By the time Bridges posted up and swooped in for a layup to spark a three-point play Thursday night with 4:26 left, chants of "one more year" rained down from the Izzone. Bridges pointed at Tom Izzo as the ball fell through the basket, and his coach gave him a huge smile.
They know what lies ahead.
That's a three-game finish to prove to the NCAA selection committee its worthiness of an at-large berth before the start of the Big Ten tournament. It begins Sunday in the Spartans' home finale against No. 15 Wisconsin.
In the first game without senior guard Eron Harris, who is done for the season with a "significant" knee injury, MSU applied stifling defense in the first half, limiting the Cornhuskers to just 26.7 percent shooting and controlling the boards (24-19).
The Spartans used a 9-3 run midway into the opening half that featured a six-point solo run by Ward to build the lead for good, but Nebraska pulled back within 28-26 with 5:11 left before half.
That's when MSU's freshmen and junior captain Tum Tum Nairn delivered the knockout punch.
Nairn began the big run with a pair of free throws with 4:43 to go, then Bridges drove baseline for a layup. After two more freebies apiece by Nairn and Langford came a two-play sequence that electrified the crowd and bench.
First, Langford dove for a loose ball and flicked it ahead to Winston, who dished it to Bridges for a driving layup. Then on Nebraska's return trip, Winston swiped the ball atop the key from Evan Taylor to start the break. He banked the ball off the glass to a trailing Bridges for a high-flying dunk.
Bridges and Langford added 3-pointers, then Winston pulled up just before the buzzer and drained a half-court swish. The Spartans kept on running into the locker room with a 49-31 lead and momentum they hope will carry over into Sunday's home finale against the Badgers.
That game will be Senior Day. But from here out, it's all about MSU's freshmen.
