It was a brief and punctuated message catapulting the Spartans to the top of the Big Ten standings.

But that was then.

Coming off back-to-back losses, the most recent a 68-60 loss at the hands of No. 16 Ohio State (20-7 overall, 10-5 Big Ten), the Spartans (22-6, 11-4) now are left scrambling for answers with three games to play. During his postgame press conference in Columbus, Ohio, Izzo said his team has lacked a certain grit of late, causing them to get lost in the details of the game.

“‘Fat and sassy’ doesn’t mean we didn’t come out and compete,” Izzo said. “We competed, but our attention to detail wasn’t very good.”

Following the victory against U-M, senior center Derrick Nix made comments in a practice noting the team is nationally underrated and said multiple Spartans favorably compare to the NBA talent of some of the nation’s most highly-rated players.

“If Michigan would have won, Trey Burke would have been God, Tim Hardaway (Jr.) would have been God, Glenn Robinson(III) would have been God,” Nix said at the time. “We won, and they didn’t even show our highlights.”

The comment was not well received by Izzo, citing a lack of maturity from his team and a heightened inability to handle success after the team’s loss to the Buckeyes.

“It’s a big concern and that’s why I get upset about things written or said, because it’s hard to deal with kids having success right now,” Izzo said. “When they do (have success) they say things or do things and I’m disappointed in that respect.

“I wish we could be a little more mature than that.”

Another area the Spartans are dealing with is the recent disappearing act of junior guard Keith Appling.

In the past two games against No. 1 Indiana and the Buckeyes, Appling has battled to find his form, accumulating just ninetotal points in 70 minutes of play. And beyond his scoring output, Appling struggled to guard Indiana’s Jordan Hulls and Ohio State’s Aaron Craft, allowing 33 points between the two players.

Fellow backcourt mate freshman guard Gary Harris said the team has seen what Appling can do and fully expects him to find his groove again.

“He’s struggling a little bit, but we’re all sticking with him and we know he’s going to bounce back,” Harris said. “He’s definitely going to bounce back.”

With a chance to halt the losing skid, the Spartans now have a week to regroup and refocus before heading to Ann Arbor for a rematch with the Wolverines (Sunday at 4 p.m., CBS). For Harris, it’s a chance to remind the college basketball world how good the team can be.

“We can’t let that happen,” Harris said. “We’ve got to play with the same (intensity) we did a few games ago and we’ve got to bounce back off this losing streak.”