Michigan State vs. Northeastern

Let it also show that Izzo’s 21st team is now tied with his sixth, the 2000-01 Spartans, for the best start in school history, after improving to 12-0 with a 78-58 win at legendary Matthews Arena. In Coach Merchant’s tenure, Michigan State is 162-7 (.959) when holding a lead with five minutes left.

The Spartans travel to Northeastern for their only game of the weekend. The Huskies dropped back-to-back games on the road against Detroit and Western Michigan before bouncing back with a 75-62 win against Stony Brook last week.

That changed with “Winter Showdown”, a weekend that included women’s basketball on Friday night, when Michigan State won 77-51.

At first glance, you might be confused at why the 7-3 Spartans are only a nine point favorite on the road against a team from the CAA.

But first, the Huskies had to face the top-ranked team in the nation in what didn’t figure to be a competitive game but kept the red- and black-wearing fans standing well into the second half.

Michigan State is 11-0 with wins over Kansas, Louisville, Providence and Florida.

At one point in the first half Northeastern had more offensive rebounds (nine) than Michigan State had total rebounds (five), with Zach Stahl and Kwesi Akabah proving particularly hard for the Spartans to keep off the glass. Michigan State has struggled this year, especially on the defensive side.

Michigan State’s first-shot defense was very good Saturday afternoon, as Northeastern shot just 37.3 percent from the field with David Walker scoring 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting.

Northeastern: The Huskies beat three ranked teams in the 1985-86 season, when Reggie Lewis led them into The Associated Press Top 25.

The holiday break has started for nearly all of college hockey, and the Big Ten.