Michigan State basketball ‘soul-searching’ after Wisconsin blowout

MADISON, WI – Tom Izzo did not mince words.

That 92-71 thrashing No. 10 Michigan State basketball suffered at the hands of Wisconsin on Friday, Feb. 13?

The job the Badgers did from outside and inside to dominate from start to finish?

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The toughness they showed that the Spartans just couldn’t summon, even after showing the fortitude to come back from big deficits in the past month?

MSU’s coach simply called it “a good, old-fashioned ass-kicking.”

“Listen. We’ve played everybody good. Everybody. From Duke to Michigan, we played everybody good,” he said after the Spartans’ third loss in four games. “Tonight, we got beat by a team that I think is a little better than us. But we got beat by a team that played a lot better than us. … They outplayed us in every aspect of the game.”

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo argues a call during the first half of their game against Wisconsin Friday, February 13, 2026 at the Kohler Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

There were no comebacks this time, not like the ones the Spartans had in wins vs. Rutgers (on the road) and No. 7 Illinois (at home) and in losses to No. 2 Michigan (at home) and Minnesota (on the road). This was, however, a fifth straight game in which MSU (20-5, 10-4 Big Ten) found itself trailing by double digits. That, after playing the first 20 games of the regular season without trailing, at any point, by more than nine.

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The Spartans might have made a comeback, but every time they chipped into the Wisconsin lead that reached 18 in the first half, the Badgers either drilled a 3-pointer – getting the sellout Kohl Center crowd to erupt – or they attacked MSU in the post for a demoralizing bucket.

“Credit to them. They made us pay on everything,” said point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who had 14 points and 12 assists but made just three of 12 shots. “Messed up coverages. Offensive rebounds. Loose balls. They got an and-1, they got a foul. We didn’t do our parts as players. The coaches…

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Publish date : 2026-02-14 10:08:00

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