MSU’s sense of timing — spurred by Jeremy Fears Jr. (12 points, eight assists) — had a lot to do with how comfortable this game stayed throughout, even as the Wildcats kept fighting in the second half. Every time Northwestern had a moment, MSU had an answer. When Northwestern got within a hopeful margin late, Jase Richardson (13 points) came through with a driving bucket. A possession later, Fears found a rolling Szymon Zapala, who drew the foul. He missed the front-end one-and-one free throw, but it was a quality play. For the first time in a while, the Spartans’ were a little off at the line, just 20-for-27, with a couple missed front ends. By their standards, that’s a rough night. They’ve set a pretty high standard to this point.

Among the Spartans’ great strengths is their ability to handle a lot of different styles and matchups because of the diversity of their depth. That showed up again Sunday in a game they surprisingly controlled most of the afternoon. It’s becoming less and less of a surprise.

2. MSU’s depth creates urgency

One of the more encouraging traits about this MSU team is how it keeps its foot on the pedal. Some of that is leadership, point guard play and offensive skill, along with a general hunger that this group seems to have. It’s also a product of the Spartans’ depth. All of these these guys are replaceable to some degree by someone else in the rotation — and they know it. The team might be up 20, but if you don’t give a focused next four minutes, someone else will.