Men's Basketball: NU at Michigan State

Just about tipoff time here at the Breslin Center, and the Izzone is just about deafening. Tonight, 7-13 NU is in East Lansing to take on 19-3 Michigan State. The Cats are still looking for their first Big Ten win ... might not come tonight.

Starting Lineups:

NU - G-20 Craig Moore, G-22 Michael Thompson, F-11 Nikola Baran, F-32 Sterling Williams, F-44 Kevin Coble

MSU - G-11 Drew Neitzel, G-5 Travis Walton, C-34 Drew Naymick, F-14 Goran Suton, F-2 Raymar Morgan.

So this must be what a real college basketball game feels like...

Pregame - Press row is reeeally close to the court. So we might get wiped out at some point. But I'll play through injury. Sparty is intimidating in person.

15:05 - Five minutes, four points, all from the Spartans. The first 4:55 has been a cavalcade of missed shots and turnovers on both sides, with the only points coming when Suton realized he's far broader than anyone on NU and bullying his way to the basket. Moore airballed his first shot and now the Izzone is chanting "Airball" every time he touches the ball. Spartans, like elephants, never forget. He's also drawing ire for his purple shoes, which are a different color scheme than the rest of the team's. Izzo got t'ed up and Moore is shooting the free throws, makes both. 4-2 Spartans.

11:25 - For all the heckling, Moore is holding up pretty well, along with the rest of the Cats. While the Spartans are using brute force for points, NU is getting crafty. It's had two nice backdoor cut layups, one from Moore to Jeff Ryan and one from Ryan to Thompson. And Jeremy Nash is playing really well. He's brought down two tough boards and forced a turnover. The score is tied 8-8, with Naymick going to the line for two shots. Neitzel has yet to attempt a shot.

11:06 - The Spartans have started a full-court press. And NU looks a little uneasy. 12-8 MSU.

7:56 - Moore responds really well to heckling. He found Ryan on another backdoor cut, hit a 3 to put NU ahead 13-12, then drew an offensive foul right before the media timeout. Coble's come alive too. He hit a 3 to give NU its next lead at 16-14, then got an outlet pass after a turnover and DUNKED it to make the score 18-14, where it stands right now. And here I thought nobody on NU could dunk. 18-14 Cats. As Samuel L. Jackson famously quoth in Jurassic Park, "Hold onto your butts."

3:27 - Well, Drew Neitzel finally got to the arena. After not taking a shot for the first 12:37, Neitzel has put in 13 points over the last four minutes, on 5-of-5 shooting. And all of his 3s bring the house down. But NU is still in there. MSU leads 27-26, after a particularly enervating Neitzel 3. The backdoor cuts are working to perfection. How long can this last?

12.3 - MSU leads 33-29 and has the last possession of the half. What happens in it could mean a lot as to how the rest of the game is going to go.

00.0 - The Spartans got what they wanted, the ball in Neitzel's hands with one second left. He missed the 3, but Walton was under the bucket and tipped it in at the buzzer. So the Cats go into the half trailing 35-29.

Moore and Coble have been keeping NU afloat. The two have 21 of the Cats' 29 points. Nash also had an eventful first half, but he missed two scoring opportunities close to the hoop - one on a blocked shot and one on a flat-out miss. NU is shooting 54.2 percent from the field and is only being outrebounded by one. But the Cats have committed 11 turnovers, which is the main thing keeping them back. It's going to be an interesting second half.

MSU 35, NU 29.

14:55 - It's looked like it's been just about to get away from the Cats on several occasions, but they're hanging in there. It's 45-37 Spartans at this point, and Carmody is engaging in theater major fare on the sidelines. Complete with stamping feet and brow wipings culminating in pained grimaces. MSU 45, NU 37, Cats' ball.

11:37 - The Izzone must have made Craig Moore mad. He has just hit two 3s in a row to bring the Cats within one point, at 47-46. Moore is 7 of 9 from the field, including 5 of 7 from behind the arc, and has 21 points. He also has two steals, a block and three assists. That's filling up a box score. I wasn't at the Indiana game, but this might be the best the Cats have played all year. MSU 47-46.

11:20 - Thompson just picked up his fourth foul and Moore has three.

9:35 - A Neitzel 3 moves the lead to 54-48 for the Spartans. It just seems like every time NU gets something going, MSU is there to stop it. NU ball down by six.

7:20 - Drew Neitzel is NU cyanide. He hits another jumper, then faked a jumper and found Morgan under the basket for a dunk. 58-50 MSU. It's NU ball under its hoop, after Morgan committed his third foul on Moore.

4:43 - This one could be slip sliding away. The Spartans have built their lead up to 10 at 62-52. But the NU press forced a turnover on the first possession it was in place. So who knows?

3:08 - Michigan State is taking its time when it gets the ball, which means NU will have to force the issue a little bit on the offensive end to get more possessions. Something it isn't very good at. MSU 64, NU 52.

1:14 - Well, it was fun while it lasted. A Neitzel free throw makes it 69-55 Spartans, and 0-10 for the Cats in conference.

57.7 - Like the Indiana game, the final score is not going to do this one justice. The Spartans have gone on a 16-5 run in the last nine minutes to put this one in the icebox. Poor, poor Cats.

Final - MSU 70, NU 55.