Michigan State beats Northwestern in defensive battle on senior night

After a close loss to then-No. 2 Purdue last week, Michigan State was looking to rebound, and earn a much-needed victory versus Northwestern on Wednesday night.

The Spartans honored their seniors on senior night and the crowd at the Breslin Center certainly made an impact on the game. Michigan State, prior to this game, had dropped three Big Ten matchups in a row and needed a victory to help improve its NCAA Tournament resume.

The Spartans prevailed against the Wildcats by a final score of 53-49 and improved their overall record to 18-12 and 10-9 in Big Ten play.

Northwestern got off to a fast start, scoring five points in the first minute of play. Despite starting fast, the scoring did not stick around and both the Spartans and Wildcats struggled to buy a basket throughout much of the game. MSU center Mady Sissoko, on his senior night, was the first Spartan to score, hitting a free-throw.

Northwestern’s Brooks Barnhizer was injured with just under 14 minutes left in the first half and that was the first timeout of the game. Barnhizer eventually checked back in, and ended with a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds).

With 12:41 to play, Michigan State freshman forward Coen Carr was close to yet another spectacular slam dunk, but was fouled. He missed both free throws. Carr is a 55% free-throw shooter this season.

At the unde-12-minute timeout, Michigan State was trailing Northwestern 12-7. The Spartans couldn’t find an answer on offense, and the scoring for both sides remained stagnant. Both guard Jaden Akins and guard A.J. Hoggard had yet to score for the Spartans at that point. Graduate senior guard Tyson Walker led the Spartans with four points at that mark, and Sissoko also grabbed three rebounds. Additionally, the Spartans hadn’t made a 3-pointer and were only shooting 25% from 2-point range.

With just under 10 minutes left in the first half, the Spartans had made just one of their last 12 shots. Graduate senior forward Malik Hall had scored the last four points for the Michigan State, despite the baskets being nearly four minutes apart.

The scoring woes weren’t alleviated much after the under-eight-minute timeout. The Spartans' scoring drought continued, and the team had a mere nine points on the board with about seven minutes left in the first half.

Hall finally got the Spartans into double0digits by adding a pair of free throws, which ultimately sparked a quick 4-0 run. This game was a defensive battle throughout, and it was somewhat impressive that Michigan State trailed by only four points while having scored only 13 points itself with 5:33 to go in the first half.

Michigan State guard Tre Holloman added a pair of 3-pointers later in the first half, which were much needed. This really woke up the sold-out Breslin Center crowd. However, NU's Boo Bouie matched with a 3-pointer himself in between, and the Spartans still trailed, this time only by a single point, 20-19, with 3:22 to play in the opening stanza.

The rest of the first half was similar to the first 15 minutes or so. This was the worst shooting half for the Spartans so far this season (7-for-32, 21.9%) and the second lowest-scoring half. The Spartans went into the halftime break trailing the Wildcats 25-20.

Hoggard opened the second half with a layup, and Northwestern quickly turned the ball over, giving the Spartans the ball back, and Hall added a jumper to cut the Wildcats' lead to one point at 25-24.

Hall added another bucket, and the Spartans, contrary to the tone of the first half, added eight points in the first three minutes.

Hall, on his senior night, had a double-double with fifteen minutes left in the game. He was the big difference-maker for the Spartans in this game, and as of late, finishing with 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. Even in losses, Hall has been one of, if not, the best Spartan on the court at any given moment during the past several games.

Despite being a low scoring game, it was back-and-forth for its entirety. With about five minutes left, Hall added a pair of free throws to tie the game.

In one of the most important sequences of the game, Northwestern’s Luke Hunger missed a key free throw, which would have extended the Wildcats' one-point lead. However, Hunger missed, and Holloman was fouled and made both free throws with 3:18 left to play.

One possession later, Walker made a clutch layup, and the Spartans took a three-point lead, 49-46 with two-and-a-half minutes to go.

In the layup to take the three-point lead, Walker scored his 2,000th career point between Northeastern and Michigan State.

After another layup from Walker, Northwestern’s Ryan Langborg then made a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining on the clock, to cut the Spartans' lead to two points, 51-49.

Langborg shot another 3-pointer with about 15 seconds left to give the Wildcats a chance to take the lead, however, he missed, and Holloman was fouled. Holloman made both free throws, sealing a Spartan victory.

As mentioned, Michigan State won by a final score of 53-49 in a must-win situation for postseason hopes.

Next up, Michigan State will conclude the 2023-2024 season with a road trip to Indiana on Sunday (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS).

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