EAST LANSING, Mich. — Three Michigan State players accounted for as many rebounds and two fewer assists than the Northwestern basketball team’s entire starting five.
And those were just the Spartans’ freshmen.
No. 3 Michigan State used a roster that was nine men deep and beat the Wildcats 84-53 Wednesday at the Breslin Center.
All 13 Spartans saw playing time Wednesday, and nine played for more than 10 minutes. By contrast, NU (7-8, 0-3 Big Ten) dressed only nine players for the game.
The result: Michigan State (13-1, 2-1) rotated in fresh big men to control the glass and rested guards to control the game’s tempo. The Spartans outrebounded NU 46-17 — and coupled their supremacy on the boards with a lightning-quick fast break — to pull away from the Cats late in the first half.
“That’s why they are one of the top five teams in the nation — because of their depth,” said NU forward Tavaras Hardy, who finished with eight points and six boards.
Four Spartans scored in double figures, led by forward Andre Hutson’s 19 points. In addition, reserves Aloysius Anagonye and Mike Chappell chipped in seven and eight points, respectively.
NU coach Bill Carmody countered by substituting for his starters early and maintaining a steady rotation of eight different players throughout the game.
Freshman Ed McCants saw 17 minutes and little-used freshman Langston Hughes found his way into the contest with about three minutes left.
Even so, Michigan State’s talent from top to bottom proved overwhelming.
“If they had five players, we’d be at a disadvantage,” Carmody said. “Depth was not a factor.”
With plenty of talent to play with, Izzo shuffled his lineup Wednesday, starting freshman point guard Marcus Taylor and freshman center Zach Randolph for the first time. The two combined with freshman center Jason Andreas to score 15 points, grab 11 rebounds and dish out 8 assists.
Each used his minutes to wear down an already overmatched Cats squad. In fact, Michigan State’s first basket of the night came on a no-look pass from Thomas to Randolph for a layup in transition.
And with NU trailing by just eight with five minutes left in the first half, a pair of Randolph layups changed the face of the game.
In that sequence Randolph hit a layup and drew the foul. He then missed the ensuing free throw but pulled down his own rebound and dropped the shot back in, drawing another foul in the process. Randolph sank that free-throw attempt to give Michigan State a 13-point lead — a margin that would only increase as the game wore on.
Suddenly, the game turned from competitive into what Hardy called “a joke.” Izzo took the opportunity to use all the players on his bench, including 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Matt Ishbia, a fan favorite. As more Spartans substituted into the lineup, stars Jason Richardson and Charlie Bell played a seemingly limited role on offense, although each scored in double digits.
It was a complete turnaround for Michigan State from its one-point loss at Indiana Sunday. With two players that weigh more than 250 pounds coming off the bench (Randolph and Anagonye), the Spartans are clear frontrunners in the Big Ten.
“We substitute a lot of guys in there,” Izzo said. “I was pleased with the change in the lineup and extremely pleased with Zach.”
