Four days after falling to Iowa in Welsh-Ryan Arena, a battered Northwestern entered East Lansing, seeking its fourth consecutive victory over Michigan State Wednesday.
Coach Chris Collins gained significant sharpshooting ammunition, as graduate student guard Ryan Langborg returned for his first game since Feb. 22’s Michigan matchup.
While the Wildcats (20-10, 11-8 Big Ten) put on a first-half defensive clinic, the Spartans (18-12, 10-9 Big Ten) snagged senior day spoils.
NU jumped out to a 5-1 advantage and held a 12-7 lead at the under-12 timeout. Sophomore forward Nick Martinelli paced the visiting offensive effort early, pouring in four points in the game’s opening five minutes.
The ‘Cats held Michigan State scoreless for more than four minutes midway through the period, and the Spartans shot an ice-cold 4-of-21 from the field in the opening 13 minutes. Canning 7-of-18 shots at that juncture, NU carried a 17-9 lead into the under-8 timeout.
Although graduate student guard Boo Buie quelled a 7-0 Michigan State run with a 3-pointer, Spartan guard Tre Holloman answered at the other end to cut the margin to 20-19 with three minutes and 22 seconds remaining in the first half.
Junior guard Brooks Barnhizer’s last-minute trey capped a defensive dogfight through 20 minutes, and the ‘Cats carried a 25-20 lead into halftime.
Michigan State took its first lead since the game’s opening minute, capitalizing off Spartan forward Malik Hall’s quickfire flurry to jump in front 28-27. Sophomore guard Blake Smith ended a three-plus-minute scoreless stretch for NU, but the once-frozen Michigan State attack seemingly sizzled into scorching form.
With green and white draped fans echoing a chorus of “air ball” chants in Buie’s direction, the Spartans entered the under-12 ahead 37-34. Both squads continued changing blows heading into crunch time, and coach Tom Izzo’s team led 42-40 with eight minutes to play.
Once the teams reached the final three and a half minutes, neither group could hit the broad side of a barn. Despite going almost four minutes without a field goal, the ‘Cats clung to a 46-45 lead at the under-4 timeout.
The hosts punched ahead by five entering the final minute, but Langborg launched a crucial 3-pointer to cut the Michigan State lead to just two points. Still, the Spartans held on to exorcise their purple and white demons.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s loss to Michigan State.
1. Langborg makes long awaited return; Nicholson on crutches
After missing the past two games with an ankle injury, Langborg slotted back into the starting lineup Wednesday night. The graduate student guard had averaged 23 points per game in his two contests prior to his injury.
He immediately sent a statement of his intent via a deep trey to give his squad an early lead.
While Langborg’s return was much needed for the ‘Cats, senior center Matthew Nicholson missed Wednesday’s contest and sported a walking boot — along with a pair of crutches. Nicholson left last Saturday’s Iowa tilt early after injuring his foot and never returned from the locker room.
2. Frontcourt foul trouble mounts early; hosts frozen from the field
With Nicholson’s absence, an already thin frontcourt rotation shrunk further, leaving sophomore forward Luke Hunger and graduate student forward Blake Preston to log significant playing time.
Hunger picked up his first foul on the Spartans’ first possession and was issued his second personal foul before the game’s two-minute mark.
Collins filtered in Preston and later experimented with an ultra-small-ball lineup, where Martinelli was the tallest Wildcat on the court. Michigan State couldn’t take advantage of the makeshift backcourt, as Izzo’s squad missed a bevy of looks it certainly wished it could have back.
The Spartans shot 21.9% from the field during a first half to forget.
3. NU looks to avoid third consecutive loss Saturday
The ‘Cats will close their Big Ten campaign back where it began Saturday night, when Minnesota heads into Welsh-Ryan Arena for a final conference clash.
NU ran out of gas during the teams’ last meeting, falling into overtime to the Golden Gophers Feb. 3. Of course, the ‘Cats lined up much differently just over a month ago, and Minnesota’s post presence will present challenges that Collins’ bunch must overcome.
It’ll be senior day for NU, meaning Buie and Langborg will play their final game in Welsh-Ryan Arena Saturday.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @jakeepste1n
Related Stories:
— Men’s Basketball: Northwestern secures unlikely victory at Maryland
