"We picked a bad time, we've been shooting 75 (percent) from the (free throw) line and we go 12-of-21, that was a killer," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "Probably the biggest killer was when we had a five-point lead and we just made some incredibly different decisions," Izzo said. "So once again, you gotta play good enough, play hard enough, execute well enough and play smart enough."

Valentine finished the game with 24 points, six rebounds and six assists, but MSU could not overcome Nebraska's senior Shavon Shields, who erupted for 28 points seemingly getting to the basket whenever he wanted.

Valentine was not happy with his play late and said he needs to step up and not make mistakes in crucial minutes and play better defense. 

"I could have done way better," Valentine said. "Despite what I did in that game, all that matters is win or loss. So coming down the stretch, If I'm a big time player like I think I am I've got to make those plays, and if not, then this team is just going to keep losing."

MSU found its way to a 56-51 lead with 12 minutes remaining, but was plagued by turnovers and missed shots over the next four minutes which allowed Nebraska to go a 13-0 run and take a 64-56 lead, from which MSU was not able to recover.

Toward the end of Nebraska's run, senior forward Matt Costello went down hard after missing a putback off of an offensive rebound, twisting his ankle in the process. He returned to the game with just over one minute to play, but was noticeably not able to move the same as before he got hurt.

"He rolled his ankle and we couldn't put him back in," Izzo said. "We tried at the very end and he just couldn't move."

One of the biggest problems during MSU's current three game losing streak has been the poor play of senior guard Bryn Forbes. Before the losing streak, Forbes was averaging 14.4 points per game and shooting the ball 49.5 percent from the three point line. Over the past three games, however, Forbes has only managed 5.7 points per game on 3-of-15 from the three point line, good for just 20 percent.

"Strange game," Izzo said. "I thought the execution in the first half was superb, we got Bryn Forbes shot after shot after shot after shot, poor kid just didn't make 'em. They were wide open shots, we did a good job there.

Izzo said he would give Forbes the shots he had Wednesday night any day of the week, and that he doesn't think the poor play has anything to do with confidence issues by Forbes. Izzo has thought this season he thinks Forbes has struggled the most when teams are physical with him, which Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska have all done. 

Forbes said the poor shooting doesn't have anything to do with his confidence, saying he thought it's just been a couple bad nights in a row.

"If I see those shots again I'm going to take them no hesitation, that's not going to change anything," Forbes said. "It was just a tough night, shots weren't falling."

Valentine, a longtime friend of Forbes said he tries to keep Forbes positive when he is struggling like he has been, but he also pushes him and tries to push him and hold him accountable as well.

Valentine also emphasized the play of Forbes is not the only reason MSU is on its current losing streak, he said the team just hasn't played well enough as a group to win games.

"We need (Forbes' shooting) bad," Valentine said.

"... It's tough, but we're going to go through things, we're going to go through shooting slumps and make bad plays and things like that. But at the end of the day, we had a five point lead in the second half, ready to turn that into eight and then I made a couple bad plays, next thing you know we're down eight, we get it back then we just didn't make the plays."

One thing was consistent after the loss, Izzo and his players all made a point that they knew the season wasn't over. Valentine said it will be key for the team to stick together and have each others backs and learn from these losses as MSU tries to bounce back Saturday against No. 7 Maryland. 

"The good thing is we've won 13 in a row, so we know how it feels," Valentine said. "We can do it, we played great teams like that and we've just got to really believe in ourselves and go out there and not make mistakes."