Those two seconds summed up the entire game, as MSU routed Northwestern 67-51 to advance to the semifinals in the Big Ten Tournament.

“It’s definitely important for us - just to get this win, this key win tonight, and just to see us happy again as a team,” junior forward Branden Dawson said. “This win is definitely what we needed tonight”

Dawson made the most noise with a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds, and sophomore guard Gary Harris contributed 13 points and seven boards. With his tip-ins and occasional jump shot, Dawson

“It’s kind of strange, I told him ‘God might have taken his hand away, but he gave him a jump shot,’” head coach Tom Izzo said. “It kind of reminds me of my golf game, when you come back and you just concentrate, you do it really well early. And I think he’s concentrating harder on the form of his shot because everything is not perfect, and it’s helped him."

Northwestern guard Drew Crawford lit up the scoreboard with a game-high 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half.

MSU brought their Windex against Northwestern, as they outrebounded them on the glass, 40-26. That startling number also included 16 offensive boards for the Spartans.

The dominating win will pair the Spartans up against Wisconsin for the semifinal game at about 4 p.m. With the game tipping off about 17 hours after the final horn against Northwestern, Izzo still is optimistic about the preparation his team will have.

“We’ll see if we can handle it on a late-night deal,” Izzo said. “Don’t know if we’ll have as much time tomorrow, but I think we’ll get stuff done.”

The Spartans fell to the Badgers 60-58 in their lone matchup on Feb. 9. Tomorrow’s winner will go on to face the winner between Michigan and Ohio State on Sunday to decide who takes home the hardware.

The quarterfinal showdown between MSU and Northwestern was all but settled after the first half.

It was MSU’s defense that was the story of the night. Nine of Northwestern’s 11 turnovers came in the first half, and the Wildcats had their work cut out for them getting a shot off before the shot clock expired. Senior guard Keith Appling, who finished with six points on 3-of-4 shooting, said the defense was a huge component to their offensive threat.

“It just seemed like everything was clicking,” Appling said. “Starting with our defense and (it made for) easy baskets on the offensive end.”

Led by Dawson’s 10 first-half points, the Spartans jogged into the locker room with a healthy 40-22 lead. The Spartans built their advantage on a 12-2 run highlighted by four points from Dawson and a 3-pointer by redshirt freshman forward Kenny Kaminski. The run helped MSU to a 22-12 lead with 6:36 left on the clock.

MSU sent the final message at the end of half, as sophomore forward Matt Costello took a behind-the-back pass from Denzel Valentine on a fast break. Costello drew a flagrant foul from Dave Sobolewski while throwing down the dunk, allowing him to sink on free throw to take a 38-20 lead with under a minute left in the half.

Northwestern showed a little bit of fight early on in the second half, going on a 7-0 run and keeping MSU scoreless for a four-minute span. MSU answered that ray of Wildcat light with a 11-3 run of their own, all but sealing a semifinal trip for the Spartans.