MSU's Big Ten Title Hopes are Not Gone With Loss

While they slipped up for the first time since November, the Michigan State Spartans still have a good chance at winning the conference.
Feb 1, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA;  Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo sits during warmups before a game against the USC Trojans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo sits during warmups before a game against the USC Trojans at Galen Center. Mandatory Credit: William Navarro-Imagn Images / William Navarro-Imagn Images

Michigan State’s winning streak had to come to an end sometime. 

The Spartans suffered their first defeat in conference play after a 70-64 road loss to USC. Tom Izzo’s team had been playing good basketball, but things fell apart on Saturday afternoon, and its weaknesses showed. 

MSU still holds a slight lead over Purdue, which is atop the Big Ten standings, but it now faces a tough road game against UCLA while the Boilermakers are hot. The matchup on Feb. 18 at the Breslin Center will have crucial conference implications. 

Since the Spartans’ loss, the talk of the conference being wide open has grown louder. The conference would still be anyone’s race had they won, but things tighten up much more gradually now that they have a blemish on their record. 

While the conference schedule only becomes more difficult from here on out, MSU is still fully in control of its chances of winning the Big Ten. Its hopes were not dashed by this loss. 

The Spartans have their issues as a team. They struggle to shoot the ball from deep and turn it over quite a bit. Their rebounding effort was not up to par against USC despite outrebounding the Trojans by one. 

However, MSU is still one of the best teams in the country. The Spartans have incredible depth. They pass the ball around and get scoring contributions from almost every player on the floor. They defend to a suffocating degree at times. They have a Hall of Famer as their head coach. 

It is true that there are plenty of talented teams in the Big Ten gunning for the crown. However, only one of those teams has Izzo patrolling the sidelines. He has been in this situation several times before, and he knows how to get the most out of his team. 

It also helps that he has the talent on his team to make that happen.

If MSU can figure out its shooting struggles, it would have little issue keeping pace in the race for the conference title. However, that is easier said than done, as it is now February, and the team is still shooting less than 30 percent from beyond the arc. 

The Spartans are not out of the Big Ten title race despite a loss. However, things could get murky if they lose to UCLA on Tuesday, so that game has become much more important. 

We’ll see how Izzo and his team respond.

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