Adreian Payne had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and No. 9 Michigan State cruised past Northwestern 85-70 on Thursday night to stay tied atop the Big Ten.
The Spartans (21-4, 10-2) are even in the standings with rival Michigan -- and those two teams meet in Ann Arbor on Feb. 23. The Wildcats (12-13, 5-7) had not allowed 80 points in a game in over a month.
JerShon Cobb had 22 points and seven rebounds for Northwestern.