EAST LANSING – In a game Michigan State basketball (18-12, 10-9 Big Ten) had to have, the Spartans came out victorious on their Senior Night at the Breslin Center, winning a low scoring defensive battle, 53-49 against Northwestern.
“I’ve had games as I told them where we play for championships on senior night, and I’ve had games where we played just to get into the tournament,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.
The Spartans were led by their seniors on Wednesday evening, as graduate guard Tyson Walker recorded 19 points. Despite shooting 8-21 from the field, MSU was led by Walker’s late game heroics once again, scoring 12 of his 19 points in the second half.
“I was just trying to be aggressive and trying to get fouled,” said Walker. “The jump shot wasn’t falling, so I was just trying to figure things out.”
Graduate forward Malik Hall also gave his fair share of contributions, particularly on the boards, putting up 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds.
“I think it was mostly just a building block. It was a tough game, and Northwestern played really well,” said Hall. “I think it was just one of those games where we had to gut it out after losing three games in a row.”
As both teams continued to go back and forth throughout the contest, Northwestern’s Ryan Langborg had a chance to put the dagger into the Spartans’ season with 11 seconds left, but missed the go-ahead three point attempt. Tre Holloman made a pair of three throws to make it a two possession game, sealing a Spartans win.
Coming into the night, Michigan State was a projected 9-seed in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. The win helps the Spartans’ odds of making the big dance once again. Tom Izzo currently holds the all-time record for consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances at 25.
After a season filled with inconsistent performances across the board, the Spartans found a way to win a much-needed game after dropping two straight home games to Iowa and Ohio State, and falling to No. 2 Purdue on the road.
Michigan State will wrap up the regular season at Indiana on Sunday, March 10 at 4:30 p.m.
