Game Recap: Michigan State falls at home to Northwestern

EAST LANSING, Michigan — Michigan State Men’s Basketball opened Big Ten conference play at the Breslin Center on Sunday night (Dec. 4), gaining a back-to-back loss, with a matchup against Northwestern. 

Northwestern outwitted Michigan State, 70-63. 

The Spartans returned home after their loss against Notre Dame at the Joyce Center. 

With injuries taking a toll on Michigan State’s early season, a new starting lineup emerged with Pierre Brooks and Jaden Akins – who returned from a stress injury in his foot. Senior forward Malik Hall, who also suffered a foot injury, remains out for a few more weeks. 

Junior guard A.J. Hoggard came off the bench as the lead scorer with 12 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Junior forward Mady Sissoko scored 12 points, collected two rebounds and three blocks. Graduate forward Joey Hauser scored 10 points and eight rebounds.

Northwestern’s Boo Buie, scored a game-high of 20 points. The Wildcats shot 42.9 percent from the floor, including 50.0 percent in the first half while the Spartans shot at 37.0 percent in the second half. Northwestern dominated at the charity stripe finishing 21-for-24 on the night.

Michigan State falls to 5-4 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten while Northwestern improves to 6-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

Michigan State will continue conference play at Penn State on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Tip-off starts at 6:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

Take a look at highlights from the game: