4 Observations: Michigan State falters after Walker injury in loss at Minnesota

It appeared Michigan State men's basketball was on it's way to a sixth win in seven games on Tuesday night in Minneapolis, but the Spartans blew a nine-point, second half lead following an injury to leading-scorer Tyson Walker and fell short down the stretch in a 59-56 defeat at the hands of Minnesota.

Walker scored 10 first-half points to help MSU take a 32-27 lead into halftime, and the Spartans used that momentum to stretch their lead to 45-36 with 13 minutes left in the game. However, momentum shifted when Walker left the game after apparently reaggravating a nagging groin injury that's plagued him for weeks. The Golden Gophers went on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the second half, and the battle was on from there.

In the end, Minnesota just made one more shot and a few more plays down the stretch to send MSU home with a gut-wrenching defeat. Here are five observations from a disappointing outcome in Minneapolis...

1.) Tyson Walker's injury changed everything

As mentioned above, Walker's injury early in the second half totally shifted the momentum of this game. Michigan State was in control and clicking on both ends of the floor until the fifth-year senior exited the game with 12:47 left on the clock. Minnesota scored seven unanswered points over the next three minutes and 41 seconds with Walker off the floor, and extended their run to 10 straight points on their first two possessions following Walker's return.

Down the stretch, Walker gutted it out and scored six more points for the Spartans, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Golden Gophers' surge in momentum. Walker extended his double-digit scoring streak to 34 consecutive games with 20 points tonight, but that will be a small comfort for the MSU faithful. The senior shot 8-of-18 from the floor and was just 2-for-7 from 3-point range, and added three rebounds, two assists and two steals

2.) Max's little brother can play...

Minnesota's Cam Christie, younger brother of Michigan State one-and-doner Max Christie, was deadly against the Spartans tonight. The younger Christie hit five of his six 3-point field goal attempts and led the Golden Gophers with 19 points, adding six rebounds. He also hit two free throws with less than 20 seconds left to put Michigan State away.

In the first matchup between these teams, Christie struggled with foul trouble in a 76-66 win for Michigan State in East Lansing. The freshman played only 16 minutes and scored eight points before fouling out. Christie is having a strong freshman season at Minnesota, averaging 10.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 44.3% from the floor and 39.4% from 3-point range. He was offered a scholarship by Izzo and MSU, but chose not to follow in his brother's footsteps. During his one season with the Spartans, Max Christie averaged 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 38.2% from the floor and 31.7% from 3.

3.) Free throw woes, bizarre strategy late

Michigan State has uncharacteristically struggled from the free throw line as a team this season, and it cost the Spartans dearly in this game. In a game MSU lost by three points, they were an ugly 7-for-17 from the foul line including a 1-for-6 night from Malik Hall, and 0-for-2 efforts from Carson Cooper and Coen Carr. The most memorable miss, however, came from A.J. Hoggard. The senior point guard was fouled on a 3-point attempt with under 15 seconds and converted on his first two attempts before missing the third, game-tying attempt.

After Hoggard's miss, Christie got the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to stretch the Gophers lead back to three points. On the Spartans' next possession, as the clock ticked under 10 seconds, Hoggard attacked the basket hard in an attempt to get a "quick two" but forced a shot up in traffic that missed. Hoggard batted the ball out of bounds on the subsequent scrum for the rebound, and MSU's last chance to tie the game went by the wayside.

I'm not sure what was talked about in the timeout leading to that possession, but if play call was designed for Hoggard that's a mistake by the coaching staff. Walker has been the go-to guy all season for MSU, and even if the coaching staff was worried about his injury or Minnesota defending him close, Jaden Akins was also a good option, shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range tonight. Whatever happened there, it wasn't one of Izzo's better coaching moments.

4.) MSU's supporting cast struggles (outside of Akins)

Like we said above, Jaden Akins played well tonight for Michigan State, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and adding three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Other than him, however, Michigan State's supporting cast really struggled.

Hall's night was marred by his poor effort from the free throw line, and he finished with just six points on four shot attempts. The senior added four rebounds and three assists, but he was tied for a team-worst negative-nine in plus-minus with Mady Sissoko. Sissoko scored just two points, led MSU with six rebounds and had a pair of turnovers after being thrown the ball in the low post.

Once again, freshmen Xavier Booker and Carr were non-factors, through Booker looked good during a three-minute first half stretch. Carr, on the other hand, didn't look all that comfortable in his four minutes of action, but wasn't given much of an opportunity to get into the flow of the game. As for the others, Hoggard struggled, shooting 1-of-6 from the floor and finishing with four points, five assists and three rebounds; Holloman had arguably his worst performance of the season and Michigan State didn't get much out of Carson Cooper or Jaxon Kohler.

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