With streak over, Michigan State basketball looks to keep its composure, Big Ten lead

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LOS ANGELES — The streak is done. Gone is the perfect conference record no one ever thought would last, especially not Tom Izzo.

What comes next will determine if Michigan State basketball can handle the pressure of a Big Ten title race.

Inside the Galen Center locker room Saturday, after the seventh-ranked Spartans’ first loss since November, sophomore Coen Carr was one of the most vocal voices imploring his teammates to remain steady and calm.

Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans sits on the bench during the final minutes of the the second half against the USC Trojans at Galen Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025.

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“We just weren’t ready,” Carr said. “They punched us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond how we should have. That’s it. Not enough.”

MSU (18-3, 9-1 Big Ten) hadn’t lost since falling to Memphis in the second game of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 26. That 69-day stretch between losses, in which the Spartans ripped off 13 straight wins, put them in command of the Big Ten regular-season race.

However, Saturday’s loss to the Trojans (13-8, 5-5) chipped MSU’s cushion to half a game over second-place Purdue (9-2 Big Ten) and one game over Michigan (8-2) in what is essentially a three-team chase at the midpoint of the 20-game league schedule.

“(Carr) said we can’t dwell on this loss,” senior Jaden Akins said. “We lost the game, and we lost it because of us. So we just gotta move forward from that and stay locked in.”

The Spartans moved on in their five-day visit to Los Angeles immediately after the game by relocating across town from USC’s on-campus hotel to a Beverly Hills hotel. It gets them closer to the Westwood neighborhood and Pauley Pavilion, where MSU plays Tuesday against UCLA (16-6, 7-4).

The 10 p.m. tipoff will be the Spartans’ third straight game not televised but solely shown online on NBC’s Peacock streaming…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/streak-over-michigan-state-basketball-120121875.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2025-02-03 12:01:00

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