Northwestern struggled shooting the ball all night, finishing the game making just 12 field-goals compared to the team's 17 made free-throws. 

MSU got off to a hot start opening the game on a 7-0 run, but after a timeout by Northwestern, the Spartans went on a 10-5 run to pull within two points, trailing just 12-10.

MSU then went on another 8-0 run to take a 20-12 lead and from there would put the game away. 

MSU went 7-of-8 from behind the three-point line, opening up a 31-16 lead behind the hot shooting of Valentine, who hit three of his first four shots, including 2-of-2 from three. 

Despite the lead, turnovers plagued MSU early as Valentine turned the ball over four times in the first half, playing loose and careless with the ball early on. MSU ended the game with 15 turnovers compared to just 11 for Northwestern. 

MSU played phenomenal defense for a second straight contest, holding Northwestern to just 21 percent from the floor and only 17 percent from the three-point line. MSU shot a blistering 51 percent from the floor and 62 percent from three-point range on 16-of-26 shooting. 

MSU's freshmen had career games, as guard Matt McQuaid scored a career-high 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, freshman forward Deyonta Davis scored eight points, tied a career high with 11 rebounds and a career-high six blocks. 

MSU did not shoot a free throw for the first 38 minutes of the game until freshman Matt Van Dyk made a pair of free throws. Northwestern finished the game 17-of-19 from the line, good for 89 percent. 

Coming into the game MSU averaged a plus-12 rebounding margin over opponents and out rebounded Northwestern 42-33 Thursday night. MSU also assisted on 22 of  its 28 field-goals, which has also been a staple of MSU this season.