What Went Wrong in Spartans Upset Loss to USC?
The No. 7 Michigan State Spartans (18-3, 9-1) got their first taste of failure in the Big Ten this season as they fell on the road to the USC Trojans (13-8, 5-5) by a score of 70-64. It snaps the Spartans' 13-game win streak and undefeated conference record with so many different issues causing the loss.
Almost nothing went right for the Spartans on Saturday night besides maybe their defensive play. They held the Trojans to just 68 points on 42.1% shooting from the field and 7-22 from 3-point range. It was the Spartans' scoring woes and rebounding struggles that earned the loss.
The Spartans never led or even came close to tying the game. They trailed the entire game, failing to do enough to mount a comeback. They shot 42.1% from the field and made just five 3-pointers on 14 total attempts. It simply was not Michigan State's night, and it showed in multiple ways.
Michigan State was the No. 1 team in the country coming into the game in terms of fast break points, averaging just over 18 per game. Against the Trojans, they had half that total with just nine fastbreak buckets, proving costly for their overall success.
The free-throw shooting was equally was underwhelming, shooting a dreadful 57.9% from the line on 11-19 attempts. The Spartans were the second-best team in the Big Ten at the charity stripe, shooting 81.2% as a team. They dropped way below that number, leaving key points off the board.
It felt that there were four or five possessions where the Spartans turned the ball over due to an offensive foul on a screen. Spartan junior big men Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper both were whistled for failed screens that would take away crucial possessions to score and make a comeback,
For senior star guard Jaden Akins, he had one of his worst performances of the season, scoring just 11 points on 5-12 shooting and 1-5 from downtown. He committed a crucial shot clock violation late, as the Spartans trailed by 5, to essentially ice the game in favor of USC.
The Trojans dominated the paint as the worst rebounding team in the conference by average. They gained nine offensive rebounds, took three more shots than the Spartans and earned 34 points in the paint. They found several possessions with two or three shots with several offensive boards.
All that Michigan State can do now is flush the loss and scrap it. It must turn its attention to Tuesday night when it faces the UCLA Bruins (16-6, 7-4) for the second game of its West Coast road trip. The Bruins have won five straight and are 4-1 against ranked teams this season.
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