Michigan State Michigan St/Northwestern N'western Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) _ Opponents who spend hour after hour breaking down tape in hopes of finding No. 3 Michigan State's secret are wasting their time.

It's really very simple.

"We've got so many offensive weapons out there, it's hard for teams to stop us," Charlie Bell said.

The Spartans had those weapons on full display Wednesday night in a 74-58 victory over Northwestern that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated.

Jason Richardson scored 16 points and Zach Randolph added 15 and six rebounds for the Spartans (16-1, 5-1 Big Ten), who won their first conference road game of the year.

Bell had 12 points and six assists, making him only the third Spartan ever with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists. Andre Hutson played 17 minutes despite missing the last week-and-a-half with pneumonia and losing almost 10 pounds.

As if that's not enough, check out Michigan State's depth. Of the 13 Spartans who played, only four didn't score _ and one of those was only on the floor for a minute.

"I guess that's why they're one of the top five teams in the country," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "The game was basically over after eight minutes."

The Wildcats managed to make a game of it in the last three minutes _ Tavaras Hardy's dunk sparked a 10-0 run that cut the lead to 69-56 with 1:22 left _ but it was way too late by then.

Hardy had 17 points and Jitim Young added 10 for the Wildcats (7-12, 0-7), who haven't won a Big Ten game in the regular season since Feb. 6, 1999. For those of you keeping track, that's 29 straight losses.

But say this for Northwestern, at least the outcome wasn't as ugly as last year's home game against Michigan State. The Wildcats were manhandled 59-29 on Jan. 27, 2000, the fewest points ever allowed by a team coached by Tom Izzo.

"We played hard," Carmody said. "We just couldn't stop those guys."

And the scary thing is, this wasn't even one of Michigan State's best efforts. Michigan State came out roaring, opening the game with a 10-0 run that Northwestern could never overcome.

When Randolph scored on a layup with about seven minutes left in the first half, it put the Spartans up 31-9.

But they slacked off after halftime. They only managed to outrebound Northwestern 32-22, far below their usual plus-18.5 margin. Northwestern never got close enough to threaten, but there are going to be other teams that will.

"It was definitely a good start, but we also want to finish the game off and we didn't do it," Bell said. "We've got to do a better job of finishing it off because at Ohio State, we're not going to be up by 20."

Part of the problem was that the Spartans weren't feeling well. Hutson practiced Tuesday, but was still trying to get his legs back. Bell and Aloysius Anagonye were struggling with a flu virus that's making its way through the team.

But Michigan State doesn't have any time to relax. The Spartans are in a stretch where they play five of six games on the road _ a critical test for the defending national champions.

"We hadn't won a road game in the Big Ten yet," Izzo said. "You've got to be able to win on the road in the Big Ten if you're going to make a run at anything."

This was definitely the place to start the stretch. While the Spartans roster is so deep their reserves would be starters most other places, the Wildcats were simply too undermanned to make it a fair game. They don't have any seniors on their team, and only two juniors.

And anytime they showed signs of gaining momentum, the Spartans crushed them. When Aaron Jennings scored on a nice spin move, Bell made a 3-pointer, the ball swishing cleanly through the net. When Young made a layup, Richardson responded with a monster dunk.

"I don't think we're playing our best basketball," Izzo said. "The good news is, maybe we've got something to look forward to. The bad news is, we're getting near February."

ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard

Michigan State Clubhouse

Northwestern Clubhouse

AUDIO/VIDEO
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The ball never touches the court as the Spartans work it to Zach Randolph who capitalizes in the low-post.
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Jason Richardson executes in transition as he skies for the layin and the foul.
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Jason Richardson makes a ball fake then drives the lane for the jam.
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Collier Drayton feeds a slashing Ben Johnson for the hoop and the harm.
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