By Andrew SimonThe Daily Northwestern
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Looking to bounce back from Saturday’s second-half collapse against Michigan, Northwestern got off to a quick start against Michigan State on Wednesday.
But after forcing the Spartans into six turnovers in the first four minutes and taking a 5-0 lead, the Wildcats played much like they did against the Wolverines. NU again had difficulty getting any shots to fall, struggled with its interior defense and was outrebounded 37-13 – 21-4 in the first half.
The result was the Cats’ third straight Big Ten loss, as the Spartans triumphed, 66-45.
“Our lack of offense put such a pressure on us,” coach Bill Carmody said. “I wasn’t displeased with the way we were playing, but we just weren’t able to mount anything offensively.”
It was NU’s 20th straight loss to Michigan State on the road. The Cats have never won in 15 tries at the Breslin Center.
NU’s defense created opportunities for its offense early on, but the Cats’ poor shooting prevented them from capitalizing. In the first half, NU forced 11 turnovers but shot only 36 percent from the field (9 for 25) and 27.3 percent on 3-pointers (3 for 11).
“You learn through experience,” senior forward Tim Doyle said. “These guys practice hundreds of shots a day, but making them in front of 15,000 people who are screaming how much they hate you is tough.”
After a strong start in the first few minutes, the Cats went into a prolonged dry spell that saw the Spartans take command of the game. Over a span of 10 minutes, Michigan State outscored NU 23-6 to take a 23-11 lead.
While NU was struggling with its outside shooting, Michigan State avoided that problem by bullying NU’s smaller defenders inside. The combination of 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward Marquise Gray and the three-headed monster at center of 6-foot-11 Idong Ibok, 6-foot-10 Drew Naymick and 6-foot-10 Goran Suton was too much for the Cats.
Gray was particularly effective, leading the Spartans with six rebounds and scoring 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting. He scored five of his seven baskets on thunderous dunks.
Although they scored only eight points in the paint in the first half, the Spartans routinely drew fouls underneath the basket. Michigan State attempted 36 free throws in the game, making 26. During one stretch, the Spartans scored nine of 11 points from the line.
“We just have to zero down and be more specific in our assignments,” said senior center Vince Scott, who led NU with 11 points. “We have to get much better as you can see.”
Michigan State shot better than 50 percent from the field before the break and took a 32-22 lead at the intermission.
