Kevin Coble had a season-high 31 points
against Michigan State (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Among a swirl of white shirts, a cardboard cut-out of the nation's 44th president Barack Obama stood, dressed in a headband and Michigan State jersey. The fans in the Izzone must have forgotten what city the president was from.
Led by their own No. 44, Kevin Coble, the Northwestern Wildcats went into East Lansing, Mich., and shocked No. 7 Michigan State, 70-63. It was the first win for the Wildcats at the Breslin Center, the first win on the road against the Spartans since 1984 and the loss ended countless home winning streaks for the Spartans.
Coble scored 31 points to lead all players, but it wasn't just the points he put up, it was the way that Coble put them up.
It was like a game of Horse for the junior. Falling away off the glass, trying to force contact and swishing a three, at least four feet beyond the three point arc -- name a shot and Coble found a way to make it.
Northwestern almost gave away the game in the final two minutes, missing four free throws in that span, but you can hardly blame them. Most of the Wildcat players hadn't shot from the charity stripe all game.
Yet, Northwestern found a way to hold onto a lead, something they failed to do the last time they played Michigan State. On Jan. 3, Northwestern led at halftime against the Spartans, but surrendered a big post-halftime run that gave the conference leaders the lead for good.
During the first half, it appeared that Coble was going to have to beat Michigan State by himself, scoring 19 points. But in the second half, Coble's teammates came alive.
Michael Thompson poured in 20, including 14 in the second half, and Craig Moore added 11 points of his own.
Moore picked the right time to heat up, hitting his first three point shot of the game with just more than seven minutes remaining. It triggered a short run for the 'Cats and Moore seemed to focus better after that.
Prior to the game, coach Bill Carmody told the Big Ten Network that, against Michigan State, "you really have to defend and get back on defense."
His team did just that forcing turnover after turnover from the Spartans. They were needed to counter a rebound deficit of 20 boards. Yet, it seemed that Northwestern got the rebounds when they counted, or at least enough to stay one step ahead of the Spartans.
The hero last time the two teams met, Raymar Morgan was hampered by weakness caused by a bout of the flu and managed only a single point this time.
Without Morgan, the weight fell to Kalin Lucas, who scored a team-high 20 for the Spartans, and Goran Suton. But Suton had trouble scoring away from the free throw line, and combining two performances to get what they got from one man last time was a losing proposition for Michigan State.
The loss dropped Michigan State to 5-1 in conference, although they still lead by a full game. Northwestern climbed to 2-4 in the league, and 10-6 overall on the season.
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