That moment came Saturday, when the No. 6 Spartans (15-3 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) traveled to Evanston, Ill. and fell to Northwestern 81-74 — marking MSU’s first Big Ten loss of the season.

“Too many freshman,” Izzo said after the game Saturday. “The lack of experience is going to catch us sometimes. And it caught us today a little bit.”

Facing a Northwestern offense that utilizes backdoor cuts, MSU players were caught overplaying the ball and passing lanes, opening up the middle for the Wildcats.

Izzo said he was worried heading into the game that his inexperienced freshmen — guards Branden Dawson, Brandan Kearney and Travis Trice — would struggle defensively. On Saturday, he saw those worries become a reality.

Trice, who played 23 minutes Saturday, said he thought he and the freshmen were prepared after a few days of practice, but it was a different story once the game started.

“Coming in, I thought we were really prepared,” Trice said. “We did a good job against it in practice, but tonight, we kind of fell apart a couple times.”

The Spartans appeared poised to coast to their 16th consecutive win early in Saturday’s game, as MSU built a 25-16 lead about midway through the first half using a hot start from the field.

Led by three 3-pointers from senior forward Draymond Green, MSU shot 13-for-20 (65 percent) from the floor in the first half, including 5-for-7 (71. 4 percent) from behind the arc. However, eight first-half turnovers limited the Spartans on offense.

The Wildcats, meanwhile, used their Princeton-style offense and solid shooting from deep (5-for-10) to claw back before MSU could build more of a lead. And, thanks to a desperation heave just past midcourt by Northwestern’s John Shurna, the Wildcats took a 39-37 lead into the break.

With MSU continuing to struggle to stop Northwestern’s motion offense, the majority of the second half belonged to the Wildcats. The Spartans never led after halftime, and Northwestern held a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half.

MSU’s hot shooting also cooled off in the final 20 minutes, but Izzo said that wasn’t a deciding factor.

“Even though it looked like it in the second half, we didn’t lose that game on the offensive end, we lost it on the defensive end,” Izzo said. “We’re not allowed to give up 81 points. That’s ridiculous.”

As expected, the conference’s No. 1 and No. 3 scorers — Shurna and Drew Crawford — were the catalysts for Northwestern. Shurna led all scorers with 22 and Crawford, who was battling the flu, scored 20 points of his own.

However, Izzo said Wildcat forward Davide Curletti was one of the main reasons Northwestern was able to end MSU’s 15-game winning streak. Curletti, who found out he was starting shortly before the game Saturday, scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds and helped ice the game away at the free throw line.

“Curletti was the difference in the game, if you ask me,” Izzo said. “I thought he played extremely well (and) outplayed our centers.”

For MSU, sophomore guard Keith Appling scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half while trying to come back. Green finished with 14, while Wood and Dawson followed with nine.

The Spartans now have two days to prepare to take on rival and Big Ten contender Michigan on Tuesday at Crisler Arena. With the Wolverines also coming off a loss to Iowa, Green said he expects both teams to come into Tuesday’s matchup hungry to get back on track.

“They’re going to come hard,” Green said. “And we have to come hard back.”