5 days ago
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Michigan State basketball was able to survive an upset scare in a game they simply couldn't afford to lose.
The Spartans overcame a poor opening half to comeback from their largest halftime deficit of the season and knockoff Northwestern on Thursday. The Spartans trailed by nearly 10 points at halftime, but outplayed the Wildcats in the second half to win by the final score of 76-66.
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Michigan State couldn't have played a much worse first half, with early foul trouble for star point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. throwing a wrench in the Spartans' game plan. He missed most of the half with two fouls, and even when he returned things looked out of sorts, with Michigan State committing eight first half turnovers. The poor play from the Spartans gave Northwestern a 35-28 lead at the break.
Things flipped in the second half, though, as the Spartans were able to rally and chip away at the Wildcats' lead. Michigan State would take the lead around the 12-minute mark of the second half, and then never surrendered it en route to the win.
Michigan State got a career-night out of Carson Cooper, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Fears starred for the Spartans in the second half after a rough start, finishing the night with 15 points and five assists. Jaxon Kohler was his consistent scoring and rebounds machine self with 15 points and eight rebounds as well.
With the win, Michigan State improves to 14-2 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play. The Spartans remain in the hunt for the Big Ten championship with the victory, as a loss would have been detrimental to their chances of defending their conference crown.
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Michigan State will be off this upcoming weekend and return to action on Tuesday in another home conference game against Indiana. Tipoff from the Breslin Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET with the game set to be streamed on Peacock.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State basketball rallies for comeback win over Northwestern
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