Wednesday, January 2
East Lansing, Mich.
8:30 PM ET
Michigan State University
81
vs
55
Northwestern
1
2
F
Northwestern
32
23
55
Michigan St.
52
29
81
Five in Double Figures as Michigan State Beats Northwestern, 81-55
1/2/2019 11:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
East Lansing, Mich. – Junior forward Nick Ward (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) scored 21 points and junior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) had a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists as No. 8 Michigan State opened up a 20-point halftime lead en route to a 81-55 win over Northwestern in a Big Ten Conference game on Wednesday night.
Records
Michigan State, winners of seven-straight games and 12 of its last 13 overall, improves to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern falls to 9-5 and 0-3.
Summary
Michigan State hits the road this weekend, traveling to play at No. 14 Ohio State on Saturday, Jan. 5. Tipoff on FOX is slated for noon, with Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Lisa Byington calling all of the action..
Records
Michigan State, winners of seven-straight games and 12 of its last 13 overall, improves to 12-2 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern falls to 9-5 and 0-3.
Summary
- Michigan State broke open a close game with a 21-2 run over a span of 5:07 in the first half.
- The Spartans led 26-24 after a jumper from Northwestern's Miller Kopp with 8:34 to play in the half, but MSU would out-score the Wildcats 21-2 and took a 47-26 lead on a 3-pointer from senior guard Matt McQuaid (Duncanville, Texas/Duncanville) with 3:11 left in the half.
- MSU went into the half with a 52-32 lead and extended its lead to 31 points, 72-41, on a second-chance layup from redshirt senior Kenny Goins (Troy, Mich./Warren Mott) at the 13:12 mark.
- The Spartans took their biggest lead, 76-44, on a driving layup from Winston with 5:55 to play in the game.
- Winston led five players in double figures, finishing with 13 points and 12 assists, his fourth double-double of the season.
- Ward scored all 21 of his points in the first half, while sophomore forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Christian) added 14 points and eight rebounds, redshirt junior Kyle Ahrens (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles) had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists and McQuaid finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
- MSU handed out 28 assists on 34 field goals.
- The Spartans held a 48-25 advantage in rebounding.
- MSU shot 70.0 percent in the first half (21-of-30) and finished the game shooting 58.6 percent (34-of-58).
- This was the 10th time this season Michigan State has scored at least 80 points.
- Michigan State shot 58.6 percent from the floor, the ninth game this season the team has connected on at least 50 percent of its field goals (and the sixth straight).
- Ward scored at least 20 points for the sixth time this season and the 17th time of his career.
- This was Ward's 11th game in double figures this year and the 56th of his career.
- In scoring 21 points in the first half, Ward was the first MSU player to score at least 20 points in a half since Miles Bridges scored 20 against Houston Baptist on Dec. 18, 2017.
- Ward's 21 points pushed his career total to 1,150 points, which ranks 39th all-time at Michigan State. He passed Travis Trice (2011-15) and Pete Gent (1961-64) along the way and needs six more points to pass Lindsay Hairston (1972-75) for 38th place.
- This was the 13th time this season Michigan State out-rebounded its opponent … The Spartans are 12-1 in those games.
- Goins had at least 10 rebounds for the sixth time this season.
- Tillman tied a career-high with 14 points … He scored 14 points against Iowa and at Florida.
- Michigan State handed out 28 assists, the eighth game this season with at least 20. This was the team's fourth most in a game this season.
Michigan State hits the road this weekend, traveling to play at No. 14 Ohio State on Saturday, Jan. 5. Tipoff on FOX is slated for noon, with Gus Johnson, Jim Jackson and Lisa Byington calling all of the action..
Team Stats
M-509
M-416
FG%
.344
.586
3FG%
.167
.417
FT%
.667
.533
RB
25
48
TO
8
14
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
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