"I told (Collins) after the game, we've lost three games this year we all but deserved to win," Izzo said. "Today, we won one that he deserved to win."

MSU (12-5 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) opened the game with a nine point run, keeping Northwestern off the board until the 15:31 mark in the first half. At that point, Northwestern’s redshirt senior guard JerShon Cobb scored his team's first four points before finishing the half with 12.

MSU led by 14 points at the 11:13 mark in the first half, but the Wildcats did not cave. After chipping away MSU's lead to 23-14, Collins was whistled for a technical foul.

This call seemed to ignite his team, and Northwestern outscored MSU 26-17 following the technical to close out the half. The Wildcats responded to their coach, but the Spartan defense also helped the visitors out. Northwestern made over 57 percent of their field goals, including 7-of-12 3-pointers.

"You gotta defend, you gotta rebound, and hopefully, if you run, you score easier points," Izzo said. "I thought we were a clinic at it early, then I thought we went in the tank."

At halftime, both teams were tied at 40. Freshman guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn started the second half in place of junior forward Denzel Valentine. Izzo said Valentine looked "out of it," and the decision to sit him was a "statement."

After Northwestern briefly took the lead, a three from Valentine allowed MSU to regain a 55-53 lead. With a 15-2 run, the Spartans took an 11 point lead with 7:04 remaining, before Northwestern’s redshirt junior guard Tre Demps scored five straight to cut the lead back down.

"They made shots down the stretch. We were up 68-60 and they did a great job of moving the ball and executing on offense," Dawson said.

Northwestern finally erased the Spartan lead when freshman forward Vic Law and Demps hit back-to-back threes to tie the game at 68. Junior center Alex Olah slipped behind the Spartan defense and finished an easy lay-in to give Northwestern the lead. Defensive breakdowns were prevalent throughout the game for the Spartans and in crunch time, they happened again.

"We let them get too many wide open shots," sophomore forward Gavin Schilling said. "We didn't close out the gaps and we let them penetrate."

Valentine later tied the game at 70. After two offensive rebounds, Demps attempted a pull-up jumper and was fouled by Forbes. Demps made both free throws to give his team a 72-70 lead with 28 seconds left.

Again, Valentine answered and hit two free throws to tie it at 72. With 18 seconds left and a chance to win it, a 3-pointer from Demps clanked off the rim to send the game into overtime.

Schilling, Forbes, and Trice scored two points apiece as MSU scored the first six points of overtime. Following a moving screen called on Northwestern’s Olah, the Wildcats were forced to foul. After two free throws from Trice, Demps scored the Wildcats’ first points of the overtime period with a 3-pointer, cutting MSU’s lead to 80-75.

MSU scored four more points to put it away. Trice led MSU with 18 points and 10 assists, and Valentine added another 17 points. Dawson finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

"At the end of the day, we found a way to win the game in overtime," Dawson said. "It was good because in the previous three (overtime) games, we hadn't found a way to win. Tonight, they played great. Their coach should be proud of those guys. It was a huge test for us."