No. 4 Michigan State Upset by Unranked Northwestern as Boo Buie Drops 30 Points

1979 is a year remembered fondly by Michigan State fans. This is one connection to 1979 the Spartans didn't want to make.

Northwestern upset fourth-ranked Michigan State 79-65 on Sunday, the Wildcats' first victory over a Top Five opponent since the close of the 1970s.

Boo Buie was the difference-maker for Northwestern, shooting 5-of-6 from beyond the arc en route to scoring a game-high 30 points. This is the second time in three games the sophomore guard has scored 20-plus points against Michigan State. He had 26 when Northwestern suffered a 77-72 loss to Michigan State in December 2019.

The Wildcats were in control for much of the game. Their first lead came when Buie connected on a three-pointer at the 15:56 mark of the first half. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, they were up 13, 43-30.

At one point in the second half, Michigan State's deficit swelled to 21 points.

During his postgame press conference, MSU head coach Tom Izzo called the loss "one of the more inept performances in my 26 years." He also said his team appeared to be sluggish from the opening tip.

In addition to shooting 52.9 percent from the field as a team, Northwestern did excellent to nullify the Spartans' two best scorers. Joey Hauser and Rocket Watts were a combined 4-of-18 and finished with five points apiece. Hauser was slowed by what appeared to be a knee injury.

"I didn't see him any worse, I didn't see him any better," Izzo told reporters after the game about Hauser's status.

Michigan State isn't in action again until Christmas Day against No. 12 Wisconsin. That leaves Izzo and his staff time to figure out what went wrong.