Big Ten Basketball: Michigan State holds firm at home against Northwestern

After beating Minnesota in their Big Ten basketball opener, the Michigan State Spartans moved to 2-0 by beating Northwestern at home.

VS.

	1	2	T
Falcons	36	25	61
Falcons	29	23	52

Michigan State did not get off to the best start this season, as they struggled mightily in the non-conference. However, they have come alive early in Big Ten play. Northwestern has been great early this season, but MSU got the best of them on Friday night.

While coming off the bench, Alvin Ellis III supplied 16 points and eight rebounds, which were in large part due to his physicality. Ellis spent much of the night at the foul line, where he was 7-of-10, making as many free throws as the entire Northwestern roster.

Ellis was joined in the scoring column by Cassius Winston (15 points) and Nick Ward (11 points), who were the other two top scorers for MSU.

In what was a great defensive outing by Michigan State, the Northwestern Wildcats struggled to get any points on the board. Sophomore Vic Law was one rebound away from a double-double, as he led the team in scoring with 16 points, as well as rebounds with nine. After a 31-point outburst in his last game against Penn State, Scottie Lindsey came back to earth in this game. He was just 3-of-11 from the floor for 11 points.

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And even though the Wildcats hung around and stayed within striking distance for much of this game, it was all Spartans from the jump.

The scoring started on a Nick Ward lay-up for Michigan State, and Northwestern never held the lead against MSU.

The Wildcats shot poorly, 35.8 percent, on the night and it was a large factor in their loss. Along with this, Michigan State also held a +8 advantage from the free throw line, leading to them sealing the victory down the stretch.

With this win, Michigan State moved to 10-5 (2-0) on the year. This marked their first game of a four game stretch at home, so their next three will also be played in East Lansing. Rutgers, Penn State, and Minnesota all come down over the course of the next two weeks, which are easily winnable games for the Spartans.

This start to the Big Ten season for Michigan State just proves one thing: never count Tom Izzo out.

Despite the loss, Northwestern stands at 12-3 (1-1), with their tournament hopes still very much alive. The Wildcats get one game at home against Minnesota coming up before heading on the road to face Nebraska and Rutgers after that. Going 3-0 is very possible, but a 2-1 stretch would be very solid for the ball club.

Next: Checking out MSU and Northwestern on the Bubble

This start to the Big Ten schedule for Michigan State clearly has them back on track. That’s not a good sign for the rest of the conference.

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