Michigan State Upends Northwestern, 79-50

East Lansing, Mich. – Senior guard Cassius Winston (Detroit, Mich./University of Detroit Jesuit) scored 18 points to lead three players in double figures as No. 14 Michigan State used a big second half en route to a 79-50 win over Northwestern in a Big Ten men's basketball game on Wednesday night at the Breslin Center.

Junior forward forward Xavier Tillman (Grand Rapids, Mich./GR Catholic Central) added 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks, while sophomore guard Foster Loyer (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) finished with 12 points and four assists.

Records
Michigan State improves to 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the Big Ten Conference, while Northwestern falls to 6-14 overall and 1-9 in the league.

Summary

The Spartans led by 11 points (33-22) at the break and used a 7-0 run to push the lead to 40-22 on a Tillman dunk with 17:20 left and never looked back.
The lead grew to 20 points, 44-24, on a jumper from sophomore forward Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville) at the 13:59 mark.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Winston with just under six minutes left gave MSU a 72-37 advantage.
The Spartans took their largest lead, 79-43, on a jumper from freshman forward Julius Marble (Dallas, Texas/Dallas Jesuit) with 1:54 left to play.
Michigan State went into the half with a 33-22 lead, using a 7-0 burst over the final 1:49 of the half and taking the 11-point lead after a 3-pointer from redshirt senior Kyle Ahrens (Versailles, Ohio/Versailles), who also had an assist on a basket from Bingham.
The Spartans limited Northwestern to just one field goal over the first seven minutes and took a 16-2 lead at the 13:11 mark on a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Foster Loyer (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston).
Leading 18-6 after a dunk from Gabe Brown (Ypsilanti, Mich./Belleville), Northwestern went on a 9-0 run and pulled to within 18-15 on a 3-pointer from Miller Kopp with 7:49 to play.
MSU maintained its six-point lead through the next five minutes until the late run.

Key Stats

MSU had three players score in double figures and had eight different players score at least six points.
The Spartans connected on 12 baskets from 3-point land, including seven in the second half.
MSU out-rebounded Northwestern, 44-27, and had 15 on the offensive glass.
.After committing eight turnovers in the first half, MSU committed only five in the second half.
The Spartans scored 20 points off 15 Northwestern turnovers.
MSU received 30 points from its bench.

Notes

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 93-38, including a 52-8 edge in games played at home.
The Spartans have won 12 games in a row in the series and eight in a row at home.
Tom Izzo is 38-4 all-time against Northwestern.
Michigan State scored 79 points, the 16th time this season the team has scored at least 70 points.
MSU is 15-1 when scoring at least 70 points.
The Spartans limited Northwestern to just 50 points, the ninth time this season holding an opponent below 60 points (9-0).
The 50 points were the fewest scored by a Big Ten opponent against MSU this season.
MSU has held five Big Ten opponents to below 60 points.
The Wildcats shot only 35.2 percent from the floor. It was the 11th time they have held an opponent below 40 percent shooting from the floor, including five times in the Big Ten.
The Spartans handed out 21 assists, the 11th time this season they have handed out at least 20.
Michigan State is now 15-0 when leading at the half.
The Spartans out-rebounded their opponent for the 15th time this season (14-1).
Cassius Winston scored 18 points to lead the Spartans, his 15th time this season leading the team in scoring and the 46th in his career.
He has reached double figures in scoring 17 times this season and 87 times in his career.
He now has 1,771 career points and needs seven points to pass Terry Furlow for eighth all-time in scoring at Michigan State.
With one assist, Winston extended his all-time Michigan State, and Big Ten, career record to 831.
Xavier Tillman scored in double figures for the 15th time this season and the 35th in his career.
He has led the team in rebounding 19 times.
Tillman also added four assists, the eighth time this season he has handed out at least four and the sixth time in the last eight games.
He blocked two shots, giving him 44 for the season and 132 for his career. He needs three more to pass Drew Naymick (2004-08) for fifth place all-time.
Foster Loyer scored 12 points, his third game in double figures this season.

Up Next
Michigan State hits the road this weekend for the first of five away games during the month, playing at Wisconsin on Saturday, Feb. 2. Tipoff at the Kohl Center is slated for 1 p.m. (ET) on FOX, with Gus Johnson and Jim Jackson calling all of the action.

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Team Stats

Cassius Winston

Foster Loyer

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Marcus Bingham Jr.

Players Mentioned

Kyle Ahrens

Gabe Brown

Foster Loyer

Julius Marble II

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Cassius Winston

Players Mentioned

Kyle Ahrens

Gabe Brown

Foster Loyer

Julius Marble II

Xavier Tillman Sr.

Cassius Winston