Another slow start dooms the Spartans on the road at Minnesota, 76-73
The Spartans' hopes for back-to-back Big Ten titles took a major hit as MSU has now lost two straight
For the third time in three straight games, the Spartans got off to an ice-cold start on the road against a Minnesota team on a seven-game losing streak.
But this time, MSU was unable to find a rhythm in Minneapolis. Despite a furious rally in the final minutes, the Spartans dropped their second straight game, 76-73, as Minnesota fans stormed the court just after the final buzzer sounded.
Coen Carr led the Spartans 16 points, including hitting 6-of-7 shots from the free throw line. But 14 of those 16 points came with less than seven minutes to play in the game. Carr was also the Spartans' second leading rebounder with six.
Jordan Scott started for the first time in his career and rewarded Tom Izzo's decision with a career high-15 points, including 3-for-4 from deep. Trey Fort added 12 points and Jeremey Fears scored 10 points to go along with 11 assists.
Jaxon Kohler scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds but shot just 1-for-5 from three. Carson Cooper grabbed five rebounds, but struggled offensively, going 0-for-3 and scoring no points in 20 minutes of play.
Jordan Scott got the Spartans off to a solid start by scoring MSU's first basket of the game, but the Spartans would go cold over the next five minutes, missing four straight shots and turning the ball over twice. The hometown Golden Gophers slowly built a lead of 10 points in the first seven minutes of the game. Izzo even benched Fears for a minute just two minutes into the game in an attempt to get the Spartans back on track.
Minnesota was able to get to the rim easily on the first few possessions. Once the Spartans started shutting off the lane to the basket, Minnesota started raining threes. In total the Gophers would shoot 7-for-14 from the long line in the first half.
Michigan State was able to cut the lead down to as close as five points with two minutes to play in the first half, but the Gophers had an answer for almost every Spartans surge. Michigan State trailed Minnesota at the half, 32-21.
MSU shot just 33% in the first half and 2-for-9 (22%) from three. Meanwhile, the Gophers shot 44% overall and a scorching 50% from deep. Michigan State managed to keep the turnover numbers down to just five for the half and held a 5-0 offensive rebounding edge, but the cold shooting resulted in the double-digit half time deficit. Cam Ward led MSU in scoring in the first half with just five points.
The Spartans came out the locker in the second half shooting much better. MSU hit seven of their first 10 shots of the half, including eight points from Scott. Michigan State trailed just 45-40 with 14:00 left to play in the game.
But with 13:28 to play, Fears got tangled up with Minnesota guard Langston Reynolds at the top of the key. During the exchange, Fears leg rose up and struck Reynolds between the legs. Upon review, the act looked more intentional than accidental and Fears was issued a technical foul.
The sequence of events sapped any momentum that Michigan State had. The Spartans went on to miss five of their next six shots as Minnesota would once again push the lead first to twelve points and then to as many as 16 points with four minutes to play. With 4:42 left to play, Izzo pulled Fears in a move that looked like he was conceding the game.
But Coen Carr finally showed signs of life with rim dives and aggressive drives to the basket. Scott and Trey Fort both starting hitting three pointers, and Izzo inserted Fears back into the game with 1:50 left in the game. A series of missed free throw and turnovers allowed the Spartans to cut the lead down to just four points with 47 seconds left and just two points with 20 seconds left.
But the Golden Gophers' Isaac Asuma was able to sink two critical free throws and Kohler missed a three-pointer with seven seconds left, allowing Minnesota to secure the upset win.
With the loss, Michigan State moves to 19-4 on the season and 9-3 in conference play, two games back of Michigan and Illinois. The margin for error for the Spartans to repeat as Big Ten Champions is essentially zero.
The Spartans will return the Breslin Center on Saturday night to face No. 5 Illinois with a chance to redeem themselves after the worst loss of the season to date.
