EVANSTON, Ill. Northwestern coach Chris Collins wants his team to take a step forward this year after a struggle last season.
It’s still early days, but the Wildcats made quite a statement on Sunday night.
Boo Buie scored a career-high 30 points and Northwestern defeated Michigan State for the first time in nearly a decade, retaining the No. 4 Spartans for a 79-65 victory.
Pete Nance added 15 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists to Northwestern’s biggest win since the first NCAA tournament in 2017. Freshman Ty Berry had 12 points in the Big Ten opener for each school, including three out of 10 3- pointers from the Wildcats.
“One of the most incompetent performances of my 26 years,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. “It’s quite a harsh statement. I blame myself. I’m the one who has to get my team ready.”
Northwestern (4-1) stopped a slide of 12 games in the series with their first win over Michigan State since January 14, 2012. It was also the Wildcats’ first win over a top-five team in the AP poll since an 83 -65 win over Magic Johnson and then No. Michigan State on January 27, 1979.
Coming from a frustrating 8-23 campaign with just three wins in the Big Ten, it was a night to enjoy for Buie, Nance and the rest of the Wildcats who learned tough lessons last season.
“We’re trying to change the story of what everyone thinks about us, that we can’t finish, all these things,” Nance said. “We’re just a really tight-knit group and we just love to play together and be there with each other.”
The Spartans looked rusty in their first game in a week and only their second overall since December 6. They were scheduled to play Virginia on December 9, but that game was postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Cavaliers.
Aaron Henry scored 11 points for Michigan State (6-1), and Malik Hall finished with 10 points and nine boards. The Spartans shot only 39% (26-for-67) from the field.
Michigan State also had a shock when starting forward Joey Hauser left late in the first half with a left knee injury. But he returned early in the second half and finished 2-for-7 with five points. Northwestern led by a whopping 21 at 61-40 with 11:57 left.
Michigan State responded with a 9-0 point, including a three-point play by Henry, but Berry held the Wildcats stable with a 3 with 8:47 left. Buie hit four foul shots and a 3 in the last two minutes to end it. The second guard went 9-for-15 off the field, including a 5-for-6 feat from outside the arc.
“Every time I’m on the field, I just try to take what the game gives me, be it scoring, finding my teammates, the lead or all of the above,” said Buie.
The state of Michigan looked rusty early on, and an excited Northwestern team took advantage of it.
Buie, who scored a career-high 26 points in Northwestern’s 77-72 loss to Michigan State last December, hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Wildcats a 34-23 lead with 3:34 left in the first half. Nance made three more with 51 seconds to go and helped Northwestern to a 43-30 lead at half time.
The Spartans shot 35% (12-for-34) in the first half, compared to 52% (14-for-27) for the Wildcats.
“We just didn’t come to play,” said Michigan state warden Joshua Langford. “We messed up a lot of coverages defensively. We just have [weren’t] there as a unit in general. ”