trailed throughout the first half as Northeastern took advantage of their superior size. The Spartans regained the lead in the middle of the second half, led by Cassius Winston who finished with 21 points and 10 assists. However, Harris and many other Spartans struggled and Michigan State fell at home 71–63, falling to 7–5 with one non-conference game remaining. MSU struggled again from the free throw line and was shooting only 61% from the line on the season. In the final non-conference foe of the season for the Spartans, Oakland, having lost to Northeastern the night before, visited the Breslin Center on December 21. Izzo again shook up the starting lineup as the Spartans were without Miles Bridges for a fifth straight game, starting three freshmen, Joshua Langford, Nick Ward, and Cassius Winston. Led by Ward's career-high 25 points, the Spartans were able to pull away from Oakland in the second half to win 77–65. Eron Harris added 15 points while Winston finished with nine points and eight assists. The win capped off a disappointing non-conference schedule with MSU at 8–5 on the season. Big Ten regular season December On December 26, Tom Izzo announced that Miles Bridges was unlikely to play in the Big Ten opener versus Minnesota. He also announced that "Tum Tum" Nairn was also in a walking boot, but that he had not missed any practice time. On December 27, the Spartans traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to open the Big Ten schedule against Minnesota. Without Bridges, Izzo started his three healthy freshman again. However, MSU shot the ball poorly in the first half and fell behind by as many as 15 points and trailed by 13 at the half. In the second half, the Spartans rallied behind Nick Ward's 22 points and 10 rebounds. Alvin Ellis III added a career-high 20 points as the Spartans and Gophers remained tied at the end of regulation. In overtime, "Tum Tum" Nairn hit his second three-pointer of the game to give him 13 points for the game, tying a career-high, but the Spartans still trailed by one with less than 20 seconds remaining. However, Ellis was fouled with 10.6 seconds remaining and made both free throws to give the Spartans a 75–74 lead. Minnesota's last second shot was wide and the Spartans completed the come-from-behind victory to move to 1–0 in conference and 9–5 on the season. Izzo was