MSU's freshmen shine in 88-72 win over Nebraska
EAST LANSING – The future is now. And it might be Michigan State’s best hope to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Spartans’ four freshmen helped put together a big run to end the first half and kept adding to it in an 88-72 victory over Nebraska on Thursday night at Breslin Center.
Miles Bridges, Nick Ward, Joshua Langford and Cassius Winston combined for 17 points during a 21-5 explosion before halftime, which featured a display of everything exciting and none of the inconsistency the rookie quartet has shown this season.
“It was a big momentum swing, which we needed as a team,” said Ward, who had 20 points and nine rebounds. “Once we get going, we’re hard to stop.”
The freshmen combined for 64 points and 20 rebounds in the game. Bridges finished with 20 points and five rebounds. Langford scored a career-high 17 with five boards. Winston added seven points and eight assists.
Bridges and Ward became the first MSU freshman duo to score 20 points in a game since Magic Johnson and Jay Vincent against Minnesota on Jan. 5, 1978.
The Spartans (17-11, 9-6 Big Ten) led by as many as 24 in the second half, though the Cornhuskers (12-14, 6-8) didn’t go away easily. It was similar to MSU’s 72-61 win in Lincoln on Feb. 2 in which the four freshmen all scored nine or more points.
The Spartans’ 88 points were the most they’ve scored in Big Ten play since getting 93 against Rutgers on Jan. 4.
“I left those four freshmen in there quite a bit, and I do think they responded,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “I just think they gotta learn how to play both ends of the court. … Definitely they looked more aggressive, they look more comfortable. That part of it was great.”
Guard Tai Webster led Nebraska with 19 points and 10 rebounds, but Evan Taylor was the only other Cornhusker in double figures with 10 points.
Now comes a three-game finish to prove to the NCAA selection committee its worthiness of an at-large berth before the start of the Big Ten tournament. It begins Sunday in the Spartans’ home finale against No. 15 Wisconsin (4 p.m./CBS).
“We needed this game. We need this game on Sunday as well,” Langford said. “Everybody has to have a sense of urgency. In the past, all of coach Izzo’s teams get better around March. I feel like we’re becoming a better team, we’re taking big steps. We have to keep going.”
In the first game without senior guard Eron Harris, who is done for the season with a “significant” knee injury, the Spartans applied stifling defense in the first half, limiting the Cornhuskers to just 27 percent shooting.
The freshmen and junior captain Tum Tum Nairn delivered the knockout punch in the final 5 minutes of the opening period.
Leading 28-26, Nairn began the big run with a pair of free throws with 4:43 to go, then Bridges drove baseline for a layup. After two more freebies apiece by Nairn and Langford came a two-play sequence that electrified the crowd and bench.
First, Langford dove for a loose ball and flicked it ahead to Winston, who dished it to Bridges for a driving layup. Then on Nebraska’s return trip, Winston swiped the ball atop the key from Evan Taylor to start the break. He banked the ball off the glass to a trailing Bridges for a rim-rocking dunk.
Bridges and Langford added 3-pointers in the final two minutes, then Winston pulled up just before the buzzer and drained a half-court swish. The Spartans dashed off to the locker room with a 49-31 lead. Those were 3 of the only 4 3-pointers MSU made all game.
“The devastating part of the game for us, when it came to winning or losing,” Nebraska coach Tim Miles said, “was that last four minutes of the half. … That’s just hard to overcome.”
The Spartans want to carry that type of momentum over into Sunday’s home finale against the Badgers. That game is senior day.
That’s just a moment, though. The long-haul will depend on if their freshmen can keep this going.
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari.