Northwestern Holds on to Beat No. 10 Michigan State

The Wildcats earned their first road win over a top 10 team in nearly five years.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Ryan Young had 18 points and eight rebounds, helping Northwestern hold on to beat No. 10 Michigan State 64-62 Saturday for its first road win over a top 10 team in nearly five years.

The Wildcats (9-6, 2-4 Big Ten) won after Michigan State’s Malik Hall missed a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left and Marcus Bingham missed the front end of a one-and-one with seven-tenths of a second remaining.

The Spartans (14-3, 5-1) had won nine straight, their longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season.

Chase Audige had 14 points and Boo Buie scored 12 for the Wildcats, whose previous road win over a top 10 team on the road was Feb. 12, 2017, against No. 17 Wisconsin.

Northwestern led by seven early in the second half and went ahead 62-57 with 2:34 left.

Julius Marble gave the Spartans a chance to win with a career-high 18 points. Hall and Gabe Brown scored 10 points each. Freshman Max Christie was held to six points, missing 7 of 8 shots.

Michigan State trailed 38-33 at the half, closing with a 4:47 drought without without a basket and 12 turnovers.

The Spartans wished the second half was like the first meeting Jan. 2 at Northwestern, where they trailed by seven at halftime before scoring 47 in the second half to win 73-67.

The Wildcats led for much of the second half, beating Michigan State to offensive rebounds and hustling more to get loose balls.

In both halves, the Spartans struggled to take care of the basketball in what has been a season-long problem.

Michigan State had 12 turnovers in the first half and finished with 17.

BIG PICTURE

Northwestern: Coach Chris Collins posted its first win over a top 10 team since beating the fourth-ranked Spartans at home last season.

Michigan State: Slow starts, along with turnovers, are testing Tom Izzo’s patience and it led to a loss. Since a win over Oakland last month in Detroit, the Spartans have failed to play well in a first half.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Michigan State will fall in the poll after barely beating Minnesota earlier in the week and losing to a team at home that had won only one Big Ten game this season.

UP NEXT

Northwestern: Hosts No. 13 Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

Michigan State: Plays the Badgers on the road Friday night.