Michigan State Falls at Northwestern, 88-74

Evanston, Ill. – Michigan State's men's basketball team fell behind by 15 points at the break and could not recover in an 88-74 loss to Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday night, ending a five-game win streak for the Spartans.

Graduate guard Tyson Walker scored 27 points and had three rebounds and three assists to lead four players in double figures for the Spartans. Senior guard A.J. Hoggard had 13 points and eight assists, junior guard Jaden Akins added 13 points and four rebounds and sophomore center Carson Cooper finished with a career-high 10 points and six rebounds.

Records
Michigan State falls to 9-6 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten Conference, while Northwestern improves to 11-3 overall and 2-1 in league play.

Recap

The Spartans trailed by 15 points (46-31) at the break and fell behind 66-47 near the mid-point of the second half after a layup from Northwestern's Luke Hunger.
An 8-0 run from MSU, capped by a 3-pointer from Hoggard, pulled the Spartans to within 11 points, 66-55, with 8:12 to play in the game.
The Wildcats responded with a 7-2 burst and pushed the lead back to 16 points, 73-57, on a 3-pointer from Brooks Barnhizer with 5:37 left.
Northwestern jumped out to a 46-31 lead at the break, connecting on 54.1 percent of its field goals (20-of-37) and taking advantage of 10 MSU turnovers to score 17 points.
The first 10 minutes of the game was back-and-forth with seven ties and eight lead changes.
The Spartans took a 22-18 lead on a 3-pointer from Walker with 10:30 to play and held a 24-22 edge after another jumper Walker, this time with 8:31 to play in the first half.
A tip-in from Akins at 7:13 tied the game at 26-all and an Akins layup with 6:04 to play cut the Northwestern lead to 31-28.
The Spartans, however, went scoreless for 4:12 – until a three-point play from Hoggard with 1:52 left – and the Wildcats closed the half with a 15-3 run, taking a 46-31 lead on a jumper from Buie at the buzzer.

Up Next
Michigan State will be back on the road on Thursday, Jan. 11, visiting Illinois (FS1, 9 p.m.)

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

A.J. Hoggard

Tyson Walker

Players Mentioned

Jaden Akins

Carson Cooper

A.J. Hoggard

Tyson Walker