Michigan State Spartans at Northwestern Wildcats

No. 2 Michigan St. rallies from 27 down, beats Northwestern

Cassius Winston scored 17 points, and the second-ranked Spartans rallied from 27 down on Saturday to beat Northwestern 65-60 and extend its winning streak to 10 games.

Nick Ward added 15 points and 10 rebounds. Miles Bridges hit four free throws in the final minute, and the Spartans (26-3, 14-2 Big Ten) used a huge second half to pull out the win when they looked like they were headed to a stunning blowout loss.

Michigan State was down 22 at the break after trailing by as much as 27. Duke holds the record for the largest halftime deficit overcome in a victory, rallying from 29 down to beat Tulane on Dec. 30, 1950.

Vic Law cooled off after a blistering start to finish with 21 points, and Northwestern (15-13, 6-9) made just 3 of 26 field goals in the second half.

"I'm just disappointed for the guys," coach Chris Collins said. "I thought our effort was worthy of winning. I thought we did a lot of good things and we just came up short."

The Wildcats gave themselves a great chance at their first win over a Top 5 team since 1979 even though star guard Bryant McIntosh sat out with a shoulder injury.

"Honestly, when we were in the locker room, we were ready," Winston said.

CHARGING BACK

The Spartans outscored Northwestern 29-4 over the first 14 1/2 minutes after the break, tying it on Nick Ward's tip-in and taking their first lead of the game at 56-53 on Jaren Jackson's three-point play with 5:26 remaining.

The Wildcats went more than 11 minutes without scoring before Dererk Pardon hit two free throws with just over five minutes left.

With the Spartans clinging to a two-point lead in the final minute, Bridges hit two free throws and Winston added two more to make it 63-57. Law nailed a 3 for Northwestern to make it a three-point game with 11.4 seconds remaining, but Bridges hit two more foul shots.

QUOTABLE

BIG PICTURE

Northwestern: This might be the most disappointing loss in a letdown of a season for the Wildcats after their first NCAA Tournament appearance.

UP NEXT

Michigan State: The Spartans host Illinois in their final home game on Tuesday.

Northwestern: The Wildcats play Maryland on Monday in the second of three consecutive home games.

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