Tom Izzo’s Spartans Fall to 5-3 Behind Disappointing 79-78 OT Loss Here in South Bend

Tom Izzo’s Spartans Fall to 5-3 Behind Disappointing 79-78 OT Loss Here in South Bend The Joyce Center Notre Dame South Bend, IN There is no shame in

Tom Izzo’s Spartans Fall to 5-3 Behind Disappointing 79-78 OT Loss Here in South Bend

The Joyce Center

Notre Dame

South Bend, IN

There is no shame in losing a road game to an ACC school. But when your non-conference schedule has three legitimate big time games and you’ve lost all three perhaps playing your worst in a 79-78 OT loss here tonight, there is cause for concern. Michigan State fell to 5-3 on the season with a mistake laden performance in which the better, deeper and more talented team….lost.

It was the Spartans sixth game in 13 days and although Tom Izzo tried to cover for his team by saying, “The coach is stupid for scheduling like this. You can say it, I say it.” Fatigue was a factor. Still the Spartans are better. BUT the scoreboard doesn’t lie.

In tonight’s ACC vs B1G shootout the Spartans had command and looked to be cruising to victory. They simply ran out of gas and it showed on defense and in the execution of their defense. Meaning they executed it. It was dead.

Izzo frankly admitted he was disappointed but added this very true caveat, “Do I feel like the roof is caving in? Not even close." He went on to add that, “Our problems weren't offensively. Our problems were defensively and taking a few bad shots and making a few bonehead plays." No argument.

Izzo expounded by blaming the coaches and the guards, but it was a different atmosphere for the Irish.

They don’t want to play MSU and don’t like playing MSU. Izzo has called for a yearly meeting for years and they want none of it.

Irish head coach Mike Brey told me after the game that with a B1G opponent guaranteed every year in the ACC B1G Challenge and playing either Indiana or Purdue every year as in-state rivals a third B1G game can’t be justified to his schedule. Adding, “Tom and I will remain friends, but we won’t see them for a long time.” 1975 was the last time these two teams met on campus.

Brey said, "I've experienced a lot of exciting nights in that building. That's got to be one of the top ones. What a great college game, just a great game. And I'm really proud of our group. I don't know if I've ever wanted a win for a team more than I wanted this one for this group because of how this group is invested, how they believed, how they've been great students and how they've been coachable. So I'm pleased that we could get this tonight."

On a night that saw Spartan star Branden Dawson get his energy level back; the Spartan star went off for 18 boards and 16 rebounds. Bryn Forbes was an amazing seven for seven shooting including four of four from three but INEXPLICIBLY took NO shots in the last 14 minutes of the game.

MSU shot 49% and held the Irish to 46% and they won the rebounding battle 43 to 26. Their demise came in defensive breakdowns and turnovers where the Spartans had 12 compared to the Irish four. Notre Dame had 16 points off of the Spartan miscues.

"We did enough good things to win and enough bad things to lose," is how Izzo summed it up. I agree.

The #19Spartans will drop in the next top 25 poll, but return to action on Saturday for a remaining no sizzle non-conference tilt against Arkansas Pine Bluff on Saturday at 2:15 PM. That game can be seen on BTN.