Michigan State Basketball: The good, great, bad, and ugly from Nebraska loss

The troubles continue for Michigan State basketball, as it lost to Nebraska on Sunday night. Here is the good, great, bad, and ugly.

Michigan State basketball went into its first away conference game as a 2.5-point favorite, even though the Spartans were just 4-4 and the Cornhuskers were 7-1. Michigan State, going back to its original lineup of AJ Hoggard, Tyson Walker, Jaden Akins, Malik Hall, and Mady Sissoko, looked good in the first half and decent at times in the second. The starters did their job, but Nebraska proved to take advantage when given the chance, and hit their shots when it mattered.

Michigan State would struggle too often during the second half, and gave up a 65-62 point lead with just three minutes remaining. The Spartans now sit below .500 at 4-5, equaling the worst nine-game record to open the season for Tom Izzo. Michigan State is officially in trouble. 

Here is the good, great, bad, and ugly from MSU’s second straight Big Ten loss.  

Good: 3-point shooting

Far too often this season, Michigan State’s 3-point shooting has found it’s way to the “bad” or even “ugly” portion of this series. After being top three in the nation last season in 3-point shooting, MSU has been downright terrible from deep this year.

That, however, was not an issue on Sunday evening against Nebraska.

Outside a cold start for Tyson Walker, almost all the Spartan starters looked great from deep. As a team, MSU shot 47 percent from three, a mark much higher than their average this season. The starters went 7-for-15 from 3-point range, and that’s including the aforementioned cold start from Walker. 

The 3-point shooting was abundant for both teams, unfortunately, but it is extremely promising to see the Spartans begin to get out of their shooting slump from deep. Good shooters will go cold at times. It’s inevitable. But what differentiates them from good shooters and makes them great, is their ability to keep shooting with confidence. Eventually, they will find their shot again. It’s all about staying afloat until they do. And it seems the Spartans have found it once again.