Senior night is a special night for any program. But at a tradition-filled school like Michigan State led by head coach Tom Izzo in his 29th season, it seems to mean just a little bit more.

Five players were recognized after Michigan State’s 53-49 victory over Northwestern on Wednesday night: Tyson Walker, Davis Smith, Mady Sissoko, A.J. Hoggard and Steven Izzo.

Walker didn’t shed tears after the game, but he did the night before.

“When you just think like, ‘Damn, it’s over, time really flew by,’" Walker said about his last game at the Breslin Center. “But it feels all right, though. It’s good to cry.”

A guy who has played with Walker for all three years he was in East Lansing after transferring in from Northeastern is Hoggard. Of course, Hoggard is in his fourth year in the program himself.

“A lot of these guys have been here with me the whole time I’ve been here,” Hoggard said. “So, it’s definitely tough going out at the same time. And we’re going to miss each other. We had a good talk last night. It was just fun. It’s emotional because you don’t get to do this again. So, it’s definitely hard. You don’t really want it to come. You kind of try not to think about too much until the day comes.”

Sissoko had one of his brothers in attendance on senior night. Soulemayne traveled from Mali and arrived on Monday night.

“It means everything,” Sissoko said when discussing what his brother being in attendance meant to him. “Being here at the biggest night in Michigan State University, senior night, it’s a very meaningful thing. I’m glad we got a win, that’s the first thing, and just celebrating with him. And then having him experience the stuff here, getting here, it’s everything.”

Another Spartan who played his final regular season game inside the Breslin Center on Wednesday was Malik Hall. He walked last year during the 2022-2023 season, so he wasn’t part of the formal festivities this year, which was his decision.

However, he was still able to kiss the mid-court logo and reflect in the postgame on what Tom Izzo, his teammates and the program have done for him over the course of his career.

“I mean, this game, this team, it means a lot to me more than I can put into words for you, just this program in general,” Hall said after the win. “At some point in high school, I didn't really even think I was gonna play college basketball, let alone at this level. So just being here, it's more than I could ever ask for.”

As for the game, it was a fist-fight throughout. Michigan State was trailing Northwestern 25-20 at halftime and the Spartans were shooting just a mere 21.9% from the field. The message in the locker room at halftime was simple.

“Just that we had to win the game,” Hall said about the halftime message. “There was nothing else to it. I think everybody knew. ‘Steve-O’ (Steven Izzo) said something, Davis (Smith) said something, I said something. We all were just like, ‘We have to win the game. We have to play better, no matter what it takes.’”

In the second half, Michigan State started on an 8-2 run, but the Spartans weren’t able to pull away. Northwestern hung around until the very end. In fact, at the under-four-minute media timeout, Northwestern had a 46-45 lead.

“Simple, win,” Hall said when asked about what the message was in that huddle. “Do what it takes, make sure that you're on top of our stuff. Making sure that we're ready to switch, making sure that we're already on defense, making sure that we're boxing (out), getting the rebounds, we're executing, getting the right shots.”

Coming out of that timeout, Michigan State went on a 8-3 run to win the game on senior night and snap its three-game losing skid.

The win was sealed by a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Tre Holloman to put the game out of reach with nine seconds left on the clock. Holloman had no doubt about the free throws going in. He was thinking of one thing as he approached the line.

“The seniors,” Holloman thought as he stepped up to the charity stripe. “I had to get them a win on senior night.”

Late in the second half, Walker reached 2,000 points in his college career with a layup to give the Spartans a three-point lead. Walker knew what he needed to do to reach that 2,000 point mark. Michigan State assistant coach Doug Wojcik had a countdown on his desk and kept reminding Walker of what he needed to do to reach 2,000 points.

“It means a lot, not too many people have it, especially with other things I have — the steals, the assists,” Walker said. “So it means a lot. I put the ball in the hole, too.”

As mentioned, Michigan State snapped its three-game losing streak, and also ended a two-game losing streak at the Breslin Center with the win. The Spartans still have one regular season game remaining at Indiana on Sunday before entering postseason play in the Big Ten Tournament.

“I think it's mostly just a building block,” Hall said about the win over the Wildcats. “It was a tough game. Northwestern played really well. And I think we just, it was just one of those games where we had to gut it out. It was something that we needed, obviously (after) losing three games in a row. So, I think it was a building block to help us move forward.”

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