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Michigan State Basketball: Final score predictions vs. Northwestern

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 27, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Lourawls Nairn Jr. (11) advances the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 27, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Lourawls Nairn Jr. (11) advances the ball against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during the first half at Williams Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State basketball will be hosting Northwestern on Friday night and here are our staff’s final score predictions.

It’s been one of those years for Michigan State basketball. The Spartans will nearly beat a team like Duke and then lose at home against Northeastern. On Tuesday night, they rebounded with a nice victory over Minnesota on the road which called for a 13-point comeback.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions vs. Northwestern

On Friday, Northwestern comes to town for the second Big Ten contest of the season and it’s arguably the toughest matchup the Spartans have had since Duke. Michigan State will need to play like it did in the second half against the Golden Gophers and find more go-to scorers than just Nick Ward and Alvin Ellis (shocking, I know).

Take a look at our staff’s final score predictions for the big game.

Connor Muldowney: Nick Ward is going to be the difference yet again. The freshman big man will show up and show off in the seventh straight game without Miles Bridges and it seems like the Spartans are getting better as a team. It’s going to be a back-and-forth game as the Wildcats are a gritty bunch, but the Spartans are going to be their second straight Big Ten opponent with 12 wins on the year. Huge confidence-building victory.

Final: Northwestern 61, Michigan State 66

Ryan McCumber: Michigan State is basically trying to survive without Miles Bridges. Without him, they have lost only one game. On Tuesday, they pulled off an incredible comeback in Minneapolis against Minnesota.

During that game, Alvin Ellis III and Tum Tum Nairn stepped up big time. Northwestern could legitimately make the NCAA tournament this year and is a good shooting team. The Spartans need to step up defensively and should feed Nick Ward inside. Spartans win a close game.

Final: Northwestern 63, Michigan State 66

Andrew Erdman: Coming off a huge win tuesday night against Minnesota, Michigan State will come into this game with confidence. After being down by as much as 15 points and battling its way back and forcing overtime and ultimately taking down the Golden Gophers, Michigan State finally figured out how to close out a game. Ellis played his best game as a Spartan and will hopefully give him confidence moving forward.

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Northwestern, on the other hand, beat a not-so-great Penn State team by 10 points on the road. The Wildcats are off to a 12-2 start which for Northwestern is almost unheard of. The Wildcats haven’t faced the toughest schedule this season, losing to Butler and Notre Dame, but they did beat Texas.

Michigan State is going to have to slow down Vic Law and Scottie Lindsey if it’s going to beat the Wildcats. I think Alvin Ellis will play this game with the same tenacity as he did against Minnesota and hold Law under 10 points. Josh Langford will have a breakout game and score 14 points while Nick Ward will have another double-double leading the Spartans with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Michigan State will ride a late run to get past the Wildcats.

Final: Northwestern 67, Michigan State 72

Stephen Robb: The Wildcats are a scrappy team like their coach Chris Collins was. It’ll be a back-and-forth contest but Nick Ward will have another huge game for the Spartans.

Final: Northwestern 65, Michigan State 71

Michael Briggs: Michigan State leaves 2016 behind with a solid victory over a Northwestern squad that very well may be the first in school history to make the NCAA tournament. The Spartans are starting to gel and the return of Miles Bridges means this team will be in the conversation again involving Big Ten contenders.

Final: Northwestern 72, Michigan State 79

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