No. 9 Michigan State, No. 24 USC seek bounce-back efforts
Michigan State got snapped back to reality on Friday after feasting on weaker nonconference teams last month. The No. 9 Spartans faltered down the stretch and lost on the road to unbeaten Big Ten opponent Nebraska 58-56.
Michigan State will look to bounce back when it returns to East Lansing, Mich., to face USC on Monday night.
The Spartans and No. 13 Cornhuskers each shot under 35% from the field, but Nebraska made enough key plays to pull out the win. Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. committed a key turnover in the final minute and Carson Cooper missed two free throws that could have tied the contest.
"I just gotta take care of the ball," Fears said. "Just focus on my job. And those two possessions I think lost us the game, and that's definitely on me."
Longtime head coach Tom Izzo was irritated with the way his Spartans (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) performed down the stretch.
"Our guys gotta realize that they play for a program that you're somebody," Izzo said. "You better answer the meat and potatoes of what a somebody means. A somebody means toughness, and in winning time making winning plays."
Overall, the Spartans committed a season-high 19 turnovers.
"When it's effort-related, toughness-related, (not) coming up with a big rebound -- those things bother me," Izzo said. "That shouldn't happen in this program. ... Did we learn something? I think we did."
The No. 24 Trojans were blown out 96-66 at No. 2 Michigan on Friday. USC (12-2, 1-2) never held a lead as Michigan raced to a 49-31 halftime advantage and continued to pull away in the second half.
The Trojans were held to 34.5% shooting from the field. They made just five of 23 3-point attempts and committed 21 turnovers that the Wolverines turned into 24 points. Michigan outscored USC 26-2 on fastbreak points in a foul-filled contest that included 72 free throw attempts.
It was an emphatic end to a four-game winning streak. USC coach Eric Musselman did not hold a postgame press conference. He acknowledged earlier in the week that his team would be running the gauntlet during its three-game Midwest road swing, which concludes at Minnesota on Friday.
"I don't know if anybody's prepared in the country for that trip," Musselman said. "We're going to be on the road longer than a lot of NBA teams when they go on their East Coast trip. And that's coming right out of the (Christmas) break."
The Trojans lost one of their top players, Rodney Rice, in mid-December. Rice underwent season-ending shoulder surgery, which placed an even heavier burden on leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara.
Baker-Mazara is averaging a team-high 20.4 points along with 5.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 blocks. He was limited to 12 points and two assists while committing a season-high five turnovers on Friday.
In the teams' lone matchup last season, the Trojans never trailed in a 70-64 home victory over the Spartans.