Tom Izzo did the right thing and pulled a struggling Travis Trice from the starting lineup Tuesday night for freshman Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn. The move paid immediate dividends for an MSU team in need of a win.
A 22-1 run helped MSU defeat Northwestern on the road, 68-44. The Spartans were significantly more energetic in the first half, displaying good ball movement, pulling down nine offensive rebounds and knocking down nine of 18 3-point attempts.
Nairn isn't a magician, but his speed and defense is a welcome change of pace from the steadiness Trice typically brings. And when Trice's shots aren't falling, which has been the case during the last few games, it tends to bring down the other aspects of his game.
Coming off of the bench, Trice was more like his usual self on Tuesday, finishing with 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
It's the second straight game Nairn has outplayed his point guard companion. With MSU now in a five-way tie for second place in Big Ten standings, sticking with Nairn for at least the next few games would be the wisest option for the Spartans.
The offense flowed well on Tuesday, with Trice bringing a scoring punch off the bench the Spartans have solely missed. Junior guard Denzel Valentine assumed more of a playmaking role with Trice out of the starting lineup and looked comfortable, dishing six assists in the first half.
Izzo has talked about finding balance in his rotation for the last few months. The Spartans certainly looked balanced on Tuesday.
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