INDIANAPOLIS - Defense is reigning supreme at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, as MSU is suffocating Northwestern’s offense to give MSU a 40-22 lead at halftime.

MSU has squeezed nine turnovers out of the Wildcats, and the Spartans also have pushed Northwestern into not taking a shot until the shot clock is expiring. The lockdown defense has held Northwestern to 42 percent shooting compared to MSU’s clip of 57 percent.

When the teams met on Feb. 13, four Spartans scored in double figures, resulting in a 85-70 win. The same sentiment is being held tonight, as five players have at least five points going into the second half. Junior forward Branden Dawson leads the attack for MSU with 10 points and three rebounds.

Tre Demps is the leader for Northwestern with seven points and three rebounds.

In a rather routine game, history was made as senior forward Adreian Payne passed Drew Naymick on the all-time blocks list. His second block of the night gave him 135 career blocks, passing Naymick’s mark of 134.

The MSU offensive explosion didn’t immediately start for the Spartans, with the Wildcats hanging around in a 10-all game with 12:35 left in the half.

MSU then started to take care of business, going on a 12-2 run highlighted by four points from Dawson and a 3-pointer by redshirt freshman forward Kenny Kaminski to cap the run.

The offensive mayhem was brought to its peak at the end of the first half, when sophomore guard Denzel Valentine stole the ball on Northwestern’s end. Instead of going in for a contested layup, Valentine dished it behind his back to sophomore forward Matt Costello, who attempted a dunk while drawing a flagrant foul.

Dave Soboloweski’s foul allowed Costello to hit one free throw and send MSU to a 38-20 lead.

Drew Crawford and Sanjay Lumpkin have two fouls apiece for Northwestern. No MSU player is in foul trouble after 20 minutes.