The Spartans started the first six minutes of play on an 11-3 run with field goals from freshman forward Nick Ward, senior forward Matt Van Dyk, senior guard Alvin Ellis III and a shot downtown from freshman guard Cassius Winston.

The Wildcats cut the deficit down with a 3-point field goal from senior forward Nathan Taphorn with 13:21 left in the first half, the team's first field goal since redshirt-sophomore Vic Law's layup nearly four minutes prior. The two teams went back-and-forth for the following minute of play before Ellis III re-earned MSU's eight-point lead with a field goal made from 3-point range. Through the first nine minutes of play, Northwestern had converted on 2-of-8 shooting attempts from the floor, while MSU went 6-for-11.

The Spartan lead first reached double digits with a layup by Ward and quickly became a 15-point game after fastbreak scores from Ellis and a 3-point basket by Winston on consecutive possessions, forcing NU head coach Chris Collins to call timeout with just under nine and a half minutes in the half. Spartans led 21-6.

Northwestern responded with its first score in nearly five minutes with a 3-point basket from junior guard Scottie Lindsey, but a 3-pointer from junior point guard Lourawls "Tum Tum" Nairn Jr. and a layup from Winston extended MSU's lead to 19 points. Lindsey responded for the Wildcats in the form of another basket from downtown with a media timeout to follow and 6:17 left before halftime.

Coming out of the timeout, Law made another 3-point basket and a dunk from Taphorn cut MSU's lead to 11 points, 28-17. Taphorn would make another basket with just over 2:30 left in the half to cut MSU's lead to 10 points, 32-22.

A flurry of free throws by the Spartans gave MSU a 36-24 lead after the Wildcats put MSU in double-bonus with 11 fouls in the half. Lindsey, put NU back within nine points after making a 3-point basket, followed by a jumper from junior guard Bryant McIntosh to cut MSU's lead to seven at the halftime buzzer, 26-29.

By the end of the first half, the Spartans shot 54.2 percent from the field, including converting on 4-of-11 shots from 3-point range and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Ellis III led MSU in scoring with 11 points. Law led the Wildcats with 10 points, while NU shot 44.0 percent from the field, 6-of-12 from beyond the arc.

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