With 7:26 minutes remaining in the game, it looked as though MSU was set to suffer its second consecutive blowout conference loss on the road.

It was at the 7:26 mark when Nebraska junior guard Terran Pettaway, who had been giving MSU fits all night, sank his third and last 3-pointer to give the Huskers a 58-43 lead.

The Spartans were a discombobulated mess up to that point. In what has been a trend this season, MSU simply couldn't get its gears moving on offense. Easy shots were missed, routine passes became turnovers, and second chance opportunities were squandered.

But senior guard Travis Trice and junior guard Denzel Valentine had other ideas. And they came within two seconds of changing MSU's season narrative.

It started with a layup from Valentine at the 3:23 mark that trimmed the deficit to 10. The floodgates seemed to open from there.

Valentine sank a pair of free throws at the 2:05 mark that cut the lead to eight. Then Trice made a layup. Followed by another Trice layup a minute later. Followed by a 4-point play from Trice. Followed by a dunk by senior forward Branden Dawson from Valentine.

Suddenly, MSU was down by two points with two seconds to go. And though they couldn't complete the comeback, the guard duo proved what has already been known for some time — the fate of this season hinges on their play.

It was the play of Trice and Valentine that led the Spartans to a comeback road win over Iowa on January 8. It was Valentine who led the Spartans to a blowout win over Indiana on January 5. Trice stepped up and prevented MSU from suffering a bad home loss against Northwestern on January 11.

Of course, the consistent play of Dawson was a factor in each of these wins. But Dawson was also good against No. 13 Maryland last Saturday, but with Valentine and Trice both having bad games, MSU wasn't competitive in the loss.

Nebraska came close to qualifying for MSU's first signature win of the season. Though they ultimately fell short, the last four minutes demonstrated what MSU has to do if they want to eventually acquire a signature win.

It's now crunch time for MSU, who has zero quality wins and several quality losses with February around the corner. If the Spartans are to qualify for an NCAA berth — far from a guarantee depending on who you ask — it starts with the consistency of Trice and Valentine.