 turned it over 16 times, just one shy of their season high set during Saturday's 72-49 victory against Oakland. But Tillman and Brown each grabbed 10 boards, fueling a 48-24 rebounding advantage.''Rebounding is important to us,'' coach Tom Izzo said.Winston went 8 for 16 from the field in the Spartans' 11th consecutive victory against the Wildcats. He also moved into 12th on the school's career scoring list with 1,601 points, passing Morris Peterson (1,588) and Raymar Morgan (1,597).The senior guard bounced back nicely after he had just nine points on 3-for-13 shooting during the win against the Golden Grizzlies.''Tonight we made some huge runs, we made some plays and then we let it slip away like that,'' Winston said. ''We can't do that if we want to be a really, really good team.'' Northwestern (5-5, 0-2) pulled within four twice in the final minute. But Foster Loyer made four free throws to help Michigan State hold on.''This is definitely going to be a journey,'' said Tillman, who finished with 15 points. ''The team we are right now will definitely not be the team we are going to be in March. I don't know why, but that's just the way it is. That happened to us last year.'' Boo Buie scored a career-high 26 points for Northwestern, and Pete Nance finished with 14 in his return from a one-game suspension for ''failure to adhere to program standards.'' ''That was just a mistake I made. We dealt with it, and I've moved on,'' Nance said of the punishment.Michigan State led by as many as 16 after Winston hit two foul shots to make it 47-31 with 14:56 left. But the Wildcats responded with a 13-2 run.Buie's 3-pointer got Northwestern within five with 12:47 remaining. The freshman guard scored 11 points during the rally.''The game could have gotten away from us I thought two or three times,'' coach Chris Collins said, ''and I thought our guys just kept fighting, kind of hung in there.'' Michigan State eventually regained control with a 7-0 spurt, and then held off the Wildcats in the final minutes. Tillman also made two foul shots to help close it out for the Spartans.DEVELOPMENTBuie's performance in the Wildcats' first game against a ranked opponent was a positive sign for one of the youngest teams in the country. He went 5 for 7 from beyond the arc.''It felt good that I was able to make some shots down the stretch,'' Buie said, ''and I had my teammates encouraging me the whole time.'' BIG PICTUREMichigan State: The Spartans went 9 for 21 from 3-point range after they went 7 for 33 from the deep in the victory over the Golden Grizzlies. The 3-point shooting will be something to watch for Izzo's team as it heads into the heart of its Big Ten schedule.Northwestern: The Wildcats dropped their season opener against Merrimack, and also lost to Radford on Nov. 19. So hanging in there with Michigan State into the final minute wasn't exactly a terrible result for the team. ''I like where we're headed,'' Collins said. ''I think we're getting better.'' UP NEXTMichigan State hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday night. The Spartans don't play another road game until Jan. 12 at Purdue.Northwestern visits DePaul on Saturday night.---Jay Cohen can be reached at https://twitter.com/jcohenap---More college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/-Top 25)
Dec 17, 2019There's a chance there will be a 14-way tie for first place in the Big Ten by late Wednesday night.Of course, if that were to happen that would mean No. 15 Michigan State would be the latest conference team to lose on the road as it heads to Northwestern.As the Spartans (7-3, 1-0 Big Ten) get set to head to Evanston for an 8 p.m. tipoff, not a single team has won a conference road game. It's the second straight season the Big Ten has played a pair of conference games before the end of the year and the other 12 teams are all 1-1.That includes a few shockers, like No. 5 Ohio State losing at Minnesota and No. 7 Maryland coming an amazing final minute from Anthony Cowan from losing twice.So, needless to say, Michigan State is leery of its trip to Northwestern (5-4, 0-1) after it opened Big Ten play on Dec. 8 with a win at home over Rutgers."Just look at what's gone on in the Big Ten," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo told reporters. "We always talk about hard it is to win on the road." But it seems especially hard this season. Sure, it's only two games into a 20-game schedule, but it's still difficult to explain -- though Izzo gave it a shot."I think the league is really good, but I think we've added some more good coaches," Izzo said. "Take (Nebraska's) Fred Hoiberg. He did an unbelievable job at Iowa State and he's an NBA coach. ... I think that that's one thing and I think there is more parity. And I think that it's harder for players to stay focused on the task that they have, and if you don't take someone seriously, you're going to get beat." Michigan State has already played on the road this season, beating Seton Hall in mid-November when the Pirates were healthy and ranked in the top 15 in the nation. After a handful of neutral-site games the Spartans are still trying to shoot the ball with consistency as they dive back into conference play."You don't get many off-days in this league right now," Izzo said. "There used to be three or four teams where you said you can't afford to play bad against this team and still win, but if you could just play good or decent (you'd win). Now it's, you better be playing your 90-percent A game or you're probably not winning because I think more people believe they can beat you." As for the Wildcats, this will be a chance to get their first conference win after beating Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Sunday. Getting the victory over a Michigan State team it hasn't beaten since 2012 will be a challenge."It's daunting anytime you play those guys," Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. "To me, they're the standard for showing up every night, having toughness and playing well at home and on the road. Anytime you play a program like that, you know going into that game that you're going to have to be the toughest you've been." --Field Level Media
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