After connecting on four straight MSU shots late in the first half, Drew Neitzel decided to press his luck. The senior guard pulled up, dribbled in front of his Northwestern defender, shot a deep 3-pointer, and the ball grazed nothing but the bottom of the net. Heat-check diagnosis: hot. Though he didn’t attempt a single field goal for the first 12:35, Neitzel’s 13 consecutive MSU points helped the Spartans take control in a teeter-totter contest and guided the MSU men’s basketball team (20-3 overall, 8-2 Big Ten) to a 70-55 victory over the Wildcats (7-14, 0-10) Saturday night at Breslin Center.
“That one stretch was unbelievable,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said of Neitzel’s hot streak.
“He made some big-time shots and really saved us when we were struggling. He just kind of got in the zone there for a little bit.”
Neitzel finished with a team-high 21 points, while senior center Drew Naymick had 10 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocks for the Spartans.
Northwestern’s Kevin Coble and Craig Moore combined for 35 of their team’s point total.
“A 15-point win against them is sometimes like a 25-point win against some teams,” Izzo said.
When the Spartans and Wildcats met in Evanston earlier this season, the 3-point shot was the most potent aspect of the Wildcats’ game. On Saturday, they utilized another weapon — the backdoor pass.
Northwestern coach Bill Carmody’s implementation of the Princeton offense worked on countless backdoor screens, confusing the Spartans and leaving them stuck in what Izzo referred to as “layupville.” That offense, complemented by Northwestern’s well-known long-ball shooting ability, was a thorn in MSU’s side all night.
“I do not like playing against them,” Suton, the recipient of many of those backdoor cuts, said with a smile. “I relaxed when I got tired, and that’s when I got beat. Playing against the Princeton offense is never easy. They’re going to get some baskets off that backdoor. Generally we did a good job defending it.”
The Spartans took a 35-29 lead into halftime and led by as much as nine, but Moore’s hot shooting brought Northwestern to within one point at the 11:56 mark. Freshman guard Chris Allen provided a spark for the MSU offense, with an and-one basket and converted free throw at 10:56 to give MSU a 51-46 advantage.
When Northwestern shot its way back into the game again, MSU went back to the senior co-captain. Neitzel hit two straight shots — a 3-pointer and short jumper — and found sophomore forward Raymar Morgan under the basket for a slam dunk, increasing the MSU lead to 58-50.
“I’ve got to be on top of my game for this team,” Neitzel said. “A lot of these guys don’t have the experience, and if I’m confident and I’m on top of it all — it matters.”
From that point forward, MSU extended its lead while Northwestern found its scoring only from the charity stripe. The Wildcats didn’t convert a field goal in the final 8:44.
“We executed pretty well in the first half,” Carmody said. “We couldn’t compete for the full 40 minutes with them. I thought we went for about 35.”
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