Neitzel, Naymick drop NU to 0-10 in Big Ten

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Drew Neitzel and Drew Naymick helped Michigan State draw away from Northwestern, though they knew their team would have to play better next week to draw even in the Big Ten race.

Drew Neitzel scored 13 of his 21 points in less than four minutes Saturday night to help the No. 11 Spartans rally past Northwestern 70-55.

"I just wanted to be patient and not force shots at the beginning," Neitzel said after not shooting for 12:35, then tying his season high for points.

"But that won't work next week at Purdue and Indiana, two hostile environments. I'll have to be more aggressive and carry the team at times."

Craig Moore, who had 28 points in the teams' first meeting Jan. 24, scored 21 for the Wildcats (7-14, 0-10 Big Ten). He finished 7-for-12 from the field and 5-for-9 beyond the arc.

"Craig has grown up," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "You used to look at his body language and see him whine a little bit. But he isn't doing that now. He had a very good game."

Kevin Coble added 14 points and Michael Thompson 10 for the Wildcats, who fell to 0-6 against ranked opponents.

Neitzel's 5 straight baskets, including three 3-pointers, helped turn a 4-point deficit into a 35-29 halftime lead. But no one did more in the team's 18th straight win in Breslin Center than Naymick, who had 10 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high 6 blocks for Michigan State (20-3, 8-2).

Northwestern didn't score a basket in the first 6:26 but finally took a 13-12 lead on a 3 from Moore. When Coble hit another 3, the Wildcats led 18-14.

That was when Neitzel got hot in a stretch reminiscent of last season, when he often took over the game on offense. It also was a dramatic change from his previous two outings, when he was a combined 1-for-11 from long range.

"Neitzel had a big game on offense," Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. "That one stretch was unbelievable. He hit some shots to save us. But now, as we enter the meat of the schedule, he's going to have to handle physical play on the road."

The Spartans shot 51.9 percent to Northwestern's 38.5 and had a 33-26 rebounding edge.