4 months ago
- Spartans
- Published: Jan. 03, 2026, 8:00 a.m.
Michigan State’s first Big Ten nonaccomplishment came a batch earlier this season.
The No. 9 Spartans stalled retired down nan agelong arsenic nan defending convention champions lost 58-56 astatine No. 13 Nebraska connected Friday night.
Michigan State (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) opened convention play 9-0 past play while winning nan title by 3 games. The Cornhuskers (14-0, 3-0) put an early dent successful nan Spartans’ grounds while continuing their champion commencement successful programme history.
Here are speedy takeaways and observations from nan game:
- A sellout crowd astatine Pinnacle Bank Arena welcomed Michigan State for 1 of nan biggest location games successful programme history. The Cornhuskers followed done connected nan hype pinch a triumph while nan Spartans headed location pinch a valuable lesson.
Despite committing a season-high 19 turnovers and going 7 minutes without a section extremity successful nan 2nd half, Michigan State led 55-52 pinch little than 4 minutes to play. The Spartans couldn’t decorativeness and missed their last six changeable attempts. Center Carson Cooper went to nan statement pinch 0.7 seconds remaining and a chance to necktie nan crippled but missed nan beforehand extremity earlier bricking nan 2nd connected intent arsenic Nebraska closed retired nan win.
- Forward Jaxon Kohler remains Michigan State’s most-consistent subordinate and posted his 5th consecutive double-double pinch 19 points connected a career-high 5 triples while taking only 10 shots, to spell pinch 11 rebounds, 2 steals and a block.
There were reliable protect matchups for Michigan State’s bigs arsenic Nebraska continued to agelong nan level and Rienk Mast knocked down six triples. The Spartans did a amended occupation shutting him down aft 15 first-half points but nan elder guardant delivered late.
- Shooting defender remains Michigan State’s lone starting spot successful flux and Kur Teng resumed nan domiciled Friday night. With Divine Ugochukwu retired owed to illness, Teng started for nan 4th clip and vanished pinch 12 points – each connected triples – while shooting 4-for-15 from nan floor.
Ugochukwu, a transportation from Miami, was brought successful chiefly to service arsenic Fears’ backup but has besides been moving disconnected nan ball. Veteran transportation Trey Fort and existent freshman Jordan Scott, who are besides successful nan operation astatine shooting guard, mixed to sprout 1-for-5 astatine Nebraska while starting helping Coen Carr had a season-low 2 points.
With Ugochukwu unavailable, Michigan State’s constituent defender extent is particularly bladed and Izzo thought Fears wore down precocious connected Friday. Denham Wojcik, a grad transportation from Harvard and boy of adjunct coach Doug Wojcik, has struggled astatine times and isn’t a scoring threat.
- Michigan State has its first Big Ten nonaccomplishment of nan play and faces a speedy turnaround earlier hosting No. 24 USC connected Monday (8:30 p.m., FS1). The Trojans (12-2, 1-2) opened a Midwest travel pinch a 96-66 nonaccomplishment astatine Michigan connected Friday.
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- Michigan State shakes disconnected slow commencement to squash Cornell
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Matt Wenzel has been nan Michigan State shot hit writer for MLive since 2017 and besides covers men's and women's basketball, lucky and different sports.
