EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State has been playing with fire ever since Big Ten play resumed after the first of the year.
On Saturday afternoon at the Breslin Center, things final caught up with the Spartans as Northwestern came to town and handed No. 10 Michigan State its first conference loss, 64-62, ending a nine-game winning streak for the Spartans.
Similar to Michigan State’s trip to Northwestern early in the month and in home games against Nebraska and Minnesota, the Spartans were on their heels as the Wildcats played with energy, hitting the offensive glass, grabbing loose balls and playing together, even with leading scorer and rebounder Pete Nance out with an ankle injury.
“We didn’t play with heart,” junior Malik Hall said. “We got out-toughed. They played harder and they wanted it more.
“I saw this coming a little bit. Watching film you can see it and point out some stuff. But over time that adds up and you get what you deserve, and we got what we deserved today.”
The Wildcats (9-6, 2-4 Big Ten) pulled down 17 offensive rebounds, won the overall rebounding battle, 40-35, and took advantage of 17 Michigan State turnovers.
Ryan Young stepped in for Nance and scored 18 points to lead the Wildcats, who won in East Lansing for the first time since 2009 while getting their first road win over a top-10 team since Feb. 12, 2017, against No. 17 Wisconsin. Chase Audige added 14 points for Northwestern while Boo Buie had 12.
“Needless to say it’s a really important win for us,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. “After what we’ve been through the last four games, feeling like we’re on the doorstep in three of those four games and not able to find a way to get over the hump.
“I’m really proud of my team. We knew what we were up against … we knew we’d have to play really hard in a really tough atmosphere. … It’s one game. Obviously, it’s a big one for us and one we needed to regain some momentum.”
Even with all the problems, Michigan State had a chance to force overtime or win in the final seconds. Trailing by two, Hall missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but a foul was called on Northwestern on the rebound, giving Michigan State one more shot. On the inbounds with one second on the clock, Marcus Bingham Jr. drew a foul and went to the line for a one-and-one.
He missed the front end, though, and Northwestern walked away with the win as a stunned Breslin Center stood mostly silent.
“This is no surprise,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We were living on borrowed time. We were playing very well until we started thinking we’re an offensive team. … And I've been telling you guys we've been struggling defensively and it's just because we're not playing as hard. I told a couple of you that the turnovers are going to get us and it's my job to fix it, so blame nobody but me.
“But that game was not lost at the end. It was not lost in the middle. It was sort of lost at the beginning with a couple of players just walking around. And in my mind it has been a lot since Christmas. We’ve got a good team but I think they're reading their press clippings and thinking they're better than they are and thinking they're going to reinvent the way to win. And my staff and I did not do a very good job of making sure that that didn't happen.”
Julius Marble scored a career-high 18 for the Spartans (14-3, 5-1) while Hall and Gabe Brown each scored 10 as Michigan State was just 6 for 21 from 3-point range and was outrebounded, 40-35.
“It’s embarrassing giving up 17 offensive rebounds,” Marble said. “It shows where we are as far as toughness.”
Michigan State’s usual problems were a problem in the first half as the Spartans turned the ball over 12 times, made just one of their first five shots and allowed Northwestern to make seven 3-pointers and outrebound the Spartans, 18-15.
It was a listless first half, not unlike the uneven performance from earlier in the week when Michigan State struggled to pull out a last-second victory over Minnesota.
Against Northwestern, it was even more surprising considering the Wildcats were playing without Nance. It didn’t seem to slow the Wildcats who had seven players score in the first half, using an early 8-0 run to take control early.
And when Michigan State responded by snatching the lead and taking a 19-15 lead on two straight 3-pointers from Brown and a jump hook from Mady Sissoko, Northwestern went on a 9-2 run to wrestle back control of the game. The Wildcats’ lead grew to six late in the half on a put-back from Matthew Nicholson as Northwestern took a 38-33 lead to the halftime locker room.
“I'm on guys 24/7,” Brown said. “I probably gotta do a better job of getting on guys more and more, because we can't go out there and play like we did today."
The Spartans started quickly in the second half, pulling within one, but the turnovers returned as Northwestern built the lead back to 46-39 just five minutes into the half.
Michigan State responded with an 11-0 run to take a 50-46 lead as Northwestern was going through a 1-for-9 stretch shooting the ball. The momentum did not last, however, as the Wildcats scored the next six points, grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds in the process to push their lead to 52-50 with 7:05 left in the game.
Northwestern extended the lead to 57-52 on an Audige triple with 4:44 to play, but Hall answered with a four-point play, making a 3-pointer and getting fouled before hitting the free throw to pull MSU within one. But the Wildcats scored five in a row to pull away
The Spartans got a pair of free throws from Max Christie and a jump hook from Marble to pull within 62-60 with 1:36 left in the game and traded free throws until the final possession when the Spartans couldn’t make the winning play.
Michigan State now has much of next week off as it prepares to head to Wisconsin on Friday, the start of a stretch that includes four of five on the road.
“We’ve got five days of hell in front of us,” Izzo said. “Disappointed? Very. Surprised? Not really.
“Our backs are against the wall and we have a rugged schedule coming up. We’ll learn something about our team.”
