Until Wednesday night, this city had not been kind to Northwestern or coach Bill Carmody.
But timely shooting and a shifty 1-3-1 zone made all the difference as the Wildcats stunned No. 7 Michigan State 70-63.
“I’ve never felt good leaving this town,” said Carmody, whose record improved to 2-15 all time against the Spartans. “You have to be a little fortunate to win here, and I thought all our guys came through when they had to.”
This victory was the first for Northwestern (10-6, 2-4 Big Ten) in East Lansing since Jan. 7, 1984, and marked the first time it ever has beaten back-to-back ranked opponents after Sunday’s victory over Minnesota.
All smiles at the podium, Carmody couldn’t help but reflect on the significance.
“When I was watching [the Spartans], on film I knew it was going to be rough,” Carmody said. “That does make this feeling a little better.”
With the loss, Michigan State (15-3, 5-1) ended a 28-game home winning streak that dated back to a Feb. 3, 2007, loss to Ohio State.
This upset marked the first time since a Dec. 30, 2002, defeat to Toledo that Tom Izzo’s program had lost to an unranked opponent at home.
Izzo had a feeling his group would be in trouble against a historically clever team that forces opponents to slow the game down.
“I’m not worried about the loss; I’m worried about how we respond,” Izzo said. “What Tom Izzo does is he usually tells you the truth … and the truth is we haven’t practiced real well.”
Wildcats forward Kevin Coble led all scorers with 31 points, 19 in the second half.
Coble put on quite a show along the perimeter as he connected on a fadeaway jumper off the class with 2 minutes 10 seconds left for a 62-55 lead.
The shot sailed over the outstretched arms of Travis Walton, considered the Spartans’ defensive leader.
Carmody was surprised Coble converted several off-balance shots.
“Certain guys can take bad shots,” Carmody said. “They are bad shots for me and you, but he can make those.”
The 6-foot-8-inch forward was 10 of 16 from the field and often used head and shoulder fakes to free up some space to get his shot off.
“Those are the shots I practice,” Coble said. “People think they’re bad shots. They’re not. They just look different.”
Once Goran Suton cut the Spartans’ deficit to 66-63 after one of two free throws, NU’s Michael Thompson (20 points) secured the upset with a pair of free throws.
Luka Mirkovic then rebounded Kalin Lucas’ desperation three-point attempt with 16 seconds left, followed by another pair of Thompson free throws.
Lucas had a team-high 20 points for the Spartans, including eight straight in the game’s final minutes.
