As Tom Izzo's Spartans prepare to take on UCLA at the famed Pauley Pavillion, they must come out with more fire and confidence.
Gameday vs UCLA 🏀
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) February 4, 2025
10 PM ET on Peacock. pic.twitter.com/tLwWO37Sh3
Michigan State basketball looked ugly in its last contest as it suffered its first conference loss and first loss since late November. The performance against USC was certainly not up to par, with what we have seen this season from this team.
They just didn't look up for that game with the Trojans and the missed free throws certainly only separated USC in the end. Then again, this feels like the same story of every season under Izzo.
Final. pic.twitter.com/RrPQtjzWZB
— Michigan State Men's Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) February 1, 2025
The Spartans have always been playing strong for much of their schedule most years, and then are always due for a slip up. That's no different in this new era of the Big Ten.
A loss was bound to happen somewhere, but now they can't let it linger. Izzo-coached teams have always learned more from their losses. Sure the last 10 remaining games are the toughest in the league, but this team is right in the thick of a three-team race for the Big Ten regular-season championship.
They were due for a wake-up call, and perhaps it was just what the doctor ordered. I mean USC has been playing pretty well in the last several weeks, so falling on the road in the Big Ten is almost a nightly occurrence these days.
Sure there was plenty of pressure on the Spartans when they were sitting on a 13-game win streak and no losses in the conference. Now that they had arguably had their worst performance of the season, they can refocus on the goal.
Defend, rebound, and run.
I'm more confident with this team off a loss. They have 10 guys that can get the job done. They were due for a stinker of a game. With UCLA on the clock, this team has shown it can get back up when it's knocked down.
I'm confident the Spartans can get it back on track. Just look back at Izzo's best teams they always had a little bit of a lull in February.