Boo Buie scored 20 points as Northwestern got a historic 70-63 win over No. 20 Michigan State at the Breslin Center on Sunday night in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Wildcats, coming off of an ugly home loss to Pittsburgh, won in East Lansing for the second straight time. It was the first time the program posted back-to-back wins over Michigan State since 1962.
Northwestern wrested the lead away from the Spartans late in the first half and never gave it back. Michigan State cut the lead to one point, at 64-63, in the final minute, but Buie hit a layup in the paint, and then he and Robbie Beran hit four straight free throws to ice the win.
Northwestern started slow, just like they have all year. The Wildcats got their first three points on free throws and didn’t get their first basket until a Ty Berry 3-pointer 4:41 into the game. Northwestern twice went on runs to dig itself out of seven-point holes in the first half.
First, after falling behind 17-10, they went on an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead, helped by a Julian Roper II old-fashioned three-point play. The Spartans eventually went on a 7-0 run of their own to take another seven-point edge at 27-20. Again, Northwestern came roaring back. They tied it at 29 on a 3-pointer by Berry, and eventually took a 36-33 lead on a pair of Matt Nicholson free throws.
Northwestern led 38-37 at the half, fueled in large part by 12 makes from the free-throw line.
The Wildcats opened the second half by scoring eight of the first 11 points to take a 46-40 lead. They increased their edge to eight on a Chase Audige steal and layup, and then nine, their largest lead, after an Audige triple from the wing with 11:26 to go.
The Spartans clawed back to cut NU’s lead to four, at 58-54, on a Mady Sissoko dunk with 8:18 left. But the teams traded baskets from there and the Spartans couldn’t get over the hump despite a late charge.
Northwestern was led by its backcourt. In addition to Buie’s 20 points, Audige scored 15 points and Ty Berry had 11, including three big 3-pointers.
The Wildcats also had 10 steals that led to 13 points off of turnovers.
Michigan State was led by AJ Hoggard and Sissoko, who each had 12, while Joey Hauser finished with 11.
Here are our takeaways from the win that improved Northwestern’s record to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in Big Ten play:
This was a statement victory: Northwestern followed-up a strong performance at the Cancun Challenge, where they fell to No. 13 Auburn by one point in the title game, with a dud at home, getting blasted, 87-58, by a mediocre Pitt team.
The Wildcats needed a statement victory to restore their confidence, and they got it in one of the toughest venues to play in the Big Ten. Northwestern got its first victory at the Breslin Center since 2009 just last year. Now, the Wildcats have won two in a row on the Spartans home court and have won three of four over the Big Ten power program.
“Our guys were great tonight,” said head coach Chris Collins after the game. “This is a really hard place to play…. To come on the road and win a conference game like this is really big for us.”
The guards carried the Cats: Buie, Audige and Berry not only combined for 46 of Northwestern’s 70 points, they filled the stat sheet in other ways. The Wildcats’ trio combined for 13 rebounds, four assists and eight steals.
Buie, a noted Spartan killer, made sound decisions with the ball and got to the foul line repeatedly, making all seven of his free throws. Audige, who picked up two fouls and had to sit on the bench in the first half, had a game-high four steals. Berry went three-for-three from beyond the arc in the first half, and finished with five rebounds, three steals and numerous defensive deflections. On top of that, Roper came back after missing the last three games and put up seven points, three rebounds and two assists.
Michigan State’s three starting guards, meanwhile, finished with 21 points, less than half of Northwestern’s starters’ output.
Free throws were the difference: Maybe the most surprising stat of the game was this one: Northwestern took twice as many free throws as normally aggressive Michigan State and outscored the Spartans at the foul line 21-12. And that was despite a whistle that seemed to lean Michigan State’s way throughout the contest.
The Wildcats didn’t just settle for 3-pointers in this one, consistently getting into the paint off the dribble and driving to the basket. Less than half of Northwestern’s shots were from long distance.
Buie, who went 7-for-7 from the line, led the way, while Beran scored all five of his points at the stripe on six shots. Nicholson made 3-of-4 free throws, while Audige and Brooks Barnhizer made two apiece. Tydus Verhoeven and Roper each hit one.
