Michigan State basketball: I’m tired of moral victories

Michigan State basketball lost another game and showed some serious fight but I’m tired of moral victories.

Michigan State basketball just suffered its third straight loss, this time to Purdue 80-74. On paper, this isn’t that bad of a loss. Losing to the No. 2 team in the country on the road by six is never a bad loss. Even fighting all the way back after being down by double digits to make it a close game is something to be proud of.

But I’m tired of accepting more victories. I miss the days when we didn’t have to accept moral victories because we would win most of these games.

No more moral victories

Don’t get me wrong, I fell victim to being somewhat happy with the moral victory that was Saturday night’s loss. I fired off this tweet just minutes after the game ended.

MSU proved tonight that they are good enough to hang with the best teams in the country

Get these guys on a neutral court and I think they can beat anyone

— Daily MSU (@daily_msu) March 3, 2024

I wasn’t the only one who took this game as a moral victory either. Tom Izzo had this to share as well during his post-game press conference.

Izzo: "I was pleased that we competed. I think if we'd have done that in the last two weeks, we would've won three more games. And that's my fault, that falls on me." Adds he thinks MSU is in a better place after a performance like this he thinks will help moving forward.

— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 3, 2024

I just don’t think Michigan State is in a position to celebrate moral victories right now.

If the Spartans only had five or six losses this year then sure, this loss would be a moral victory. But that’s not the position they are in. Michigan State is still fighting for its NCAA Tournament life. An appearance in the Big Dance is not guaranteed yet, but a win against Purdue would’ve solidified their spot in the tournament.

So as much good as you can draw from this game, none of that matters right now. Michigan State is in a position where the only thing that matters is winning. If the Spartans can get into the NCAA Tournament, then we can look back at this game, take some positives from it, and learn from it. But now’s not the time for that, and MSU can’t settle for just being competitive in a loss right now.