Spartans Use 1st Half Run to Smother NW to 9th Straight Win

**Welsh-Ryan Arena; Evanston, IL**

#16 Michigan State (14-2, 5-0) will be climbing the rankings after Monday’s release as they used an epic run the final 6:42 of the first half, breaking a 16-all tie to end up 47-28 at halftime against Northwestern (10-6, 1-4). Frankie Fidler subbed in and immediately, the hot start from Nick Martinelli cooled off and so did the entire Wildcat team and never came close, down 15-20 for a whopping majority of the second half, making it a bit closer the final few minutes. MSU won their first game in Evanston since 2022 as the Wildcats had been impressive, winning 5-straight previous ranked home games.

FEARS TO BOOKER 💥 The Spartans offense is electric 😤 @MSU_Basketball pic.twitter.com/184wG1AltI

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 12, 2025

Defense Leads the Way, Gets Boost from Bench in 1st Half

It was another fine effort by Coach Izzo’s defense as they did not let the lack of fast break points deter them from controlling the tempo, forcing Northwestern into fairly quick possessions and reigned in on allowing offensive rebounds as they had early on. While Martineli ended up with 27 points, his 4-5 FG start cooled off and finished 8-18 (2-6, 3-pt, 9-12 FTs) and received little help aside from Jalen Leach who totaled 17 points (4-10FGs, 8-9 FTs), 4 assists and 5 rebounds.

Jase Richardson and Jeremy Fears Jr rolled over their bounce-back game vs Washington and helped push the 1st half run into an established one by halftime and in full control. Jaden Aikins had a team-high 14 points (3-11 FGs, 2-3 3-pt, 6-6 FTs), while Richardson tallied 13 points (4-8 FGs, 4-5 FTs) and Fears Jr. with 12 points (4-5 FGs, 3-7 FTs) along with 8 assists and 1 steal to 1 turnover. Fidler finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds in 16 minutes in what some have said was his best all-around game since Maui. Jaxon Kohler, Syzmon Zapala and Carson Cooper helped lead the front court combining for: 19 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and only 2 turnovers. However, a handful of Spartans were in foul trouble as Cooper fouled out, Holloman had 4 while Kohler, Zapala and Booker all picked up 3 with the bulk coming in the second half.

For one of the first times this season, the bench got them the lead and the starters finished it off tallying 29:49 of the point split whereas almost every game had been close to 50-50. The FOX broadcast had made note of how balanced this team is, harping that while not “sexy” without a bonafide superstar, Gus Johnson pointed out how special Jase and Jeremy are becoming with the steady leadership of Aikins with a depth everywhere.

Three Spartans put up double-digits in @MSU_Basketball’s win over Northwestern 🙌 #B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/5I5EdC2n46

— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 12, 2025

Spartans Best Start Since 2019

This 14-2 start is the best start since the likes of Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman’s squad that had their season and probable deep, March run, robbed by COVID 19.

While this club does not have a go-to, clutch scorer (some may say Aikins), this team has depth and shared minutes, resulting in an identity that is hyper focused on the Izzo staples: good on-ball and communicative defense, finishing rebounds, transition offense and sharing the ball. They do not carry an ego, have a nice mix of upper and lower classmen and perhaps most importantly, are playing for EACH OTHER. The rankings may have suggested some disrespect, while they’re non-conference SOS is not fantastic, they faced quality opponents early and have largely answered the call and fight until the end. Early turnover hiccups have quickly been reduced, and they are extremely efficient with their inside-out game, consistently getting to the free throw line, ranking 47th in FT-rate (best of any Big Ten team) while boasting a top 25 Rebound % (22nd-ORB & 21st DRB) and is second only to Illinois (8th) in 3-pt defensive % ranking 16th.

If they can improve their deep shooting to 33%, it will keep defenses honest and not zone-in Aikins and Booker, who tend to take majority of those 3-pt shots. Aside from that, they are checking the boxes and building towards not only a Big Ten Champion, but a potential Final Four run. February will be brutal, but they have a chance to start the month undefeated in conference play. One game at-a-time and they have taken heed to Izzo’s 2024-25 motto “Be different. Strength in numbers.”

TEAM STATS:

Spartans: 27-54 FG (50.0%), 4-8, 3-PT (50.0%), 20-27 FT (74.1%)

Wildcats: 21-59 FG (35.6%), 5-25, 3-PT (20.0%), 21-27 FT (77.8%)

Record/Rankings & More:

14-2 (5-0, T1st-Big Ten)
Updated KenPom- Off: 25th / Def: 12th. Adjusted Tempo: 135th. SOS Net Rtg: 42nd +5.60

Other Metrics: KPI (18th), ESPN SoR (16th), ESPN BPI (16th), T-Rank: 18th

FULL KenPom Stats: https://kenpom.com/index.php

FULL Bart Torvik Stats: https://barttorvik.com/#

FULL T-Rank Stats: https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2025/net-teamsheets-plus#google_vignette

NEXT ON THE CLOCK:

The pace continues and the Spartans will turn around to prepare for a home-tilt on Wednesday, January 15th versus Penn State (12-5, 2-4) who came off a heart-breaking loss at home Sunday to #15 Oregon (81-82) after fighting back from a double-digit deficit. Preview to come, game time is scheduled for 7:30pm EST on Big Ten Network.