It's been a bit of a rough go for the Spartans as of late. After getting off to a 13-0 start in the non-conference season, the Spartans have gotten off slowly in Big Ten play, getting dominated by Iowa twice and then losing on the road to Wisconsin.

In addition to MSU's problems with fouling, the Spartans have also been experiencing some injury problems as of late, something Izzo said is a part of the team's struggles.

"It's been a struggle," Izzo said. "It's been a struggle for them. It's been a struggle for me. And I think it's been some of our issues. We just need to get back to doing the little things. Doing their job. You have people out; people are trying to do everyone else's job. We've got to get back to everybody doing their job."

For MSU, its first shot at turning things around will be the Cornhuskers, a team which has given the Spartans some troubles as of late. Nebraska has won two straight games against MSU — a 79-77 win at Nebraska in 2015 and a 60-51 win at Breslin Center in 2014.

This year, with a dynamic duo featuring junior guard Andrew White, who has 17.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, and senior forward Shavon Shields with 15.4 points and 5.4 rebounds, Nebraska, a team currently riding a three-game winning streak, could once again stand a tough test. 

"They've got a very, very good tandem — Shields and White. ... Two 6-foot-7 guys that can do a lot of things," Izzo said. "This team is playing better. They're, I think, well coached and after a little bit of a rough start in the league, they've played pretty well."

The recent slipups and challenges that have been presented to MSU — whether it be through the injuries or the free throw shooting — are issues not many saw coming for a team ranked No. 1 for four consecutive weeks earlier this season.

"I think it surprised us a little bit," senior guard Denzel Valentine said of the challenges teams have presented to MSU the last few games. "But we'll bounce back and we got a challenge this week so we've just got to keep fighting through adversity. That's what championship teams do is find ways to win and fight through adversity."

The team isn't worried either. The Spartans are currently 16-3. Last year at this point, they were 12-6 and still went on to advance to the Final Four.

"I mean you think about previous years where you're at — my sophomore year we were 18-1 at this point," senior forward Matt Costello said. "It is what it is. I've done all of it and this is where we're at right now. We need to get better. We need to gel a little bit more."