Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Northwestern hoops hands Michigan State home loss, secures first B1G opener win vs. AP Top 25 team

Grant Bricker

By Grant Bricker

Published:

Northwestern basketball shocked Michigan State in East Lansing. The Wildcats upset the Spartans and achieved something special for their basketball program.

Sunday’s win was the first time that Northwestern has beaten an AP Top 25 team on the road in its B1G opener in program history.

The Wildcats beat the Spartans by a score of 70-63. Boo Buie led the team in scoring with 20 points. Buie also had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Other key contributors for the team were Ty Berry (11 points) and Chase Audige (15 points).

One thing that gave Northwestern an edge in the game was the number of free throws the team made. Northwestern hit 21 of its 24 free throw attempts, converting at a respectable 87.5% rate.

The game was close in other stats. Northwestern edged Michigan State in field goal percentage (42.9%) and rebounds (31). Michigan State made 41.8% of its shots from the field and had 30 rebounds. The Spartans also hit 75% of their free throws, but did not go to the charity stripe as much.

Northwestern was actually in danger of dropping its third-straight game heading into the matchup. The Wildcats had lost to No. 13 Auburn and Pitt in back-to-back games, but didn’t back down from the Spartans.

Northwestern hoops is now 6-2 and faces Prairie View A&M next. That game tips off on Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. ET on BTN.

Grant Bricker

Grant Bricker covers the B1G for Saturday Tradition. His previous stops include the Williamson Homepage and Nashville Post.