Ryan Young had 18 points and eight rebounds, starting in place of injured Pete Nance, to help the Wildcats win 64-62 in East Lansing.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Northwestern beat Michigan State at its game, crashing the offensive boards and hustling for loose balls to beat a top 10 team on the road for the time in nearly five years. Ryan Young had 18 points and eight rebounds, starting in place of injured Pete Nance, to help the Wildcats hold off 10th-ranked Spartans 64-62 Saturday. “We matched their physicality and toughness, which was a big key in winning,” coach Chris Collins said. Northwestern (9-6,2-4 Big Ten) won after Michigan State’s Malik Hall missed a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left and Marcus Bingham missed the front end of a one-and-one with seven-tenths of a second remaining. The Spartans (14-3,5-1) had won nine straight, their longest winning streak since the 2018-19 season. “They played harder, better,” coach Tom Izzo said. How did that make the Hall of Fame coach feel, knowing he built a top-notch program by focusing on defense, rebounding and effort? “About as poor as I have since I’ve taken this job.” Izzo has had this job since the 1995-96 season. “That’s one of the things we pride ourselves on.” Flipping the script on Michigan State allowed the Wildcats to become the first team to beat a top 10 team on the road while making just 34.8% of attempts since 2005 when Iowa State also shot poorly and still beat No.
