It only took a matter of minutes for the stakes at play in Sunday’s regular season finale to dwindle — MSU will not be playing for a conference championship.
Michigan’s loss to Indiana earlier in the evening sealed the deal, giving the Hoosiers their first outright Big Ten title in 20 years and confirming that MSU will not earn its second consecutive conference championship.
Instead Sunday would have to be about building on the progress from Thursday’s victory against Wisconsin and honoring senior center Derrick Nix in his final game on the Breslin Center floor.
The first half went according to plan for the No. 10 MSU men’s basketball team (23-7 overall, 12-5 Big Ten), with the Spartans leading Northwestern (13-17, 4-13), 33-26 at halftime.
All five MSU starters scored four points or more in the opening 20 minutes, with junior guard Keith Appling pacing the squad with a team-high seven points, along with six points and three assists from Nix.
The scoring began with Appling finding fellow guard Gary Harris for a one-handed fast break dunk, but the Wildcats quickly responded with five consecutive points to take their first lead of the game.
It would be the only lead Northwestern would hold for the remainder of the half, as a 3-pointer from Appling ignited a 17-2 run to put MSU ahead by double-figures, 19-7, midway through the half.
From there, the Spartans took off, seeing their lead swell to as many as 13 points, while never shrinking to fewer than seven points.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
