Despite a growing lead early, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was growing increasingly aggravated with his team’s play Saturday.
Seven of MSU’s first nine shots came from 3-point range and even in the early stages of a blowout, Izzo didn’t want to settle for lazy shots deep. Though for of the first five shots from deep were converted, Izzo felt something was off.
Despite Izzo’s gripes, the Spartans (11-2) won their sixth in a row and routed Northern Illinois (7-6) 88-60 in front of a strong Breslin Center crowd of 14,707.
“I thought we looked slow, I thought we looked lethargic,” Izzo said. “... I just thought that we looked slow, we just looked like we had too much time off and too much turkey.”
As much could be expected in MSU’s third game in 21 days and a brief hiatus between Christmas and Saturday.
Cassius Winston led all scorers with 24 points and matched a career-best with six 3’s, set season against Wisconsin on the road on Feb. 28. Kenny Goins and Nick Ward were the only other Spartans to finish in double figures, with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Xavier Tillman led the team with 11 rebounds.
“I didn't think they played as well early, they didn't make any shots and we didn't make any shots other than Cassius,” Izzo said. “He made a lot of shots.”
Winston, who finished shooting 8-of-10 from the field, agreed MSU’s play was lackluster at times. But the point guard also said it’s not much to be worried about.
“It wasn’t consistent,” Winston said. “Just, maybe, legs or maybe guys got tired. I don’t really know what it was, but after this game and a couple practices, we’re going to be back to normal speed and normal shape.”
Preseason All-Mid American Conference guard Eugene German led the Huskies with 20 points and Levi Bradley scored 13.
“I thought we tried to battle — we came in shooting an unbelievable percentage, so credit Michigan State's defense,” said NIU coach and former MSU player and assistant Mark Montgomery.
Three of MSU’s first four triples came from Winston within the first three minutes to give the Spartans an early 12-4 lead. After back-to-back baskets from the Huskies, the Spartans broke through with an 11-0 run that started with a baseline dunk from freshman Aaron Henry
In that spell, MSU extended their lead to 23-10 while NIU went scoreless in a six-plus minute stretch during the run, until Bradley ended MSU’s run with a layup with 11:19 left in the first half.
The Spartans went into halftime with a 43-19 lead in part of another 9-2 run which spanned the final 2:10 of play and capped by a buzzer-beating jumper from Tillman at the top of the key. Despite shooting 40.0 percent in the half, MSU’s defense limited the Huskies to eight field goals on 34 tries (23.5 percent) and no threes.
Whereas Izzo thought the team lacked on offense, he said he found his team’s defensive effort surprising — Goins and Tillman combined for seven blocks and MSU outrebounded the Huskies 37-23 on the defensive glass.
“I thought they were the best team of the non-BCS teams that we played,” he said. “They didn't play as well today and I hope we had something to do with it.”
Langford leaves game
Shooting guard Joshua Langford left the game at halftime with ankle soreness, according to MSU sports information spokesman Mex Carey. Though Langford was reportedly taken out for precautionary reasons, he entered the game as the Spartans’ third-leading scorer averaging 16 points a game. Langford’s night ended shooting 1-of-8 from the field with the lone make from beyond the arc.
Montgomery’s homecoming
Saturday marked Montgomery’s first return to East Lansing since taking the Huskies coaching job in the 2011-12 season. Montgomery played at MSU from 1988-92 under legendary coach Jud Heathcote and was recruited by Izzo and earned All-Big Ten Third Team honors as a senior.
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Montgomery still ranks fourth in MSU history in steals (168) and sixth in assists (561) and returned to the program as an assistant for Izzo from 2001-11.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was going to be a visiting coach coming up here talking about a Michigan State team,” he said.
“I'm a Spartan no matter where I'm at. Sometimes it harder when you leave because of course I follow my team, but I follow Michigan State in every sport. So, if you guys lose in football on Saturday, it's not a happy home for me in DeKalb and it felt great, I love the love. We've always taken care of ours, and you know I got my start because Izzo gave me the opportunity.”
Up Next
Saturday’s win marked the final nonconference game of the regular season. The Spartans will host Northwestern (8-4) at the Breslin on Jan. 2 with tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Even though the Spartans are 2-0 in conference play already, with wins against Rutgers and Iowa, six Big Ten teams are currently ranked in the AP Top 25. With five of the next eight games on the road, Izzo said he thinks league play may provide the most significant test of all.
“I think we are better prepared now (but) we have got a long way to go to compete in this league,” he said. “I think there are going to be a lot of close games. I think the league is still really, really, really good.
“I think some of the worst teams are the hardest places to play and there are not any real bad, bad teams. I don't know the last time we had five, six, seven teams ranked in the top 25. I think all of them are deserving.”
