After trailing early in several games this season, MSU knew it would be tougher to come back against a top-seeded team like Auburn, which had been the best team for much of the season. That proved to be true on Sunday night.

MSU men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo called the 17-0 run disappointing, acknowledging that the team was out of sync. Redshirt freshman Jeremy Fears Jr. admitted that the run allowed Auburn to hold its lead for the rest of the game. Junior forward Carson Cooper recognized that his mistakes — including two turnovers — helped the Tigers extend their advantage. Every player understood the effect this run had on MSU, completely shifting the momentum.

In just five minutes, MSU went from holding a two-point lead to falling behind by 15, never finding their way back to a tie or lead for the rest of the game.

MSU’s offensive collapse was painful: junior guard Tre Holloman missed a jumper, Cooper committed two turnovers, and Holloman missed a layup before turning it over again. Senior guard Jaden Akins missed a three-pointer, then a layup, followed by junior forward Jaxon Kohler grabbing the offensive rebound. Holloman missed another three, Akins grabbed the rebound and missed another shot. On the next trip down, Holloman missed another three-pointer, sophomore forward Coen Carr grabbed the rebound, missed the layup, and Kohler rebounded before passing it to Holloman, who missed yet another three.

During that sequence, Auburn scored three three-pointers and four other field goals, two coming from Broome.

Finally, senior forward Frankie Fidler made two free throws to end the drought. MSU made just one of its last 13 field goals during that stretch, essentially sinking their chances of a comeback. For the rest of the game, MSU trailed by five to 15 points — always within reach against other teams, but never against Auburn, which answered every basket MSU made over the final 30-plus minutes.

"I think we got a lot of good shots during that run," Fears said. "I think we had maybe three or four wide open shots that we could have made. Sometimes the ball just don’t fall. We had some great looks and great shots. It’s basketball. It happens.”

Izzo said he thought the team panicked a little during the run and throughout the game, especially from three-point range. MSU shot 7-for-23 from beyond the arc, but an abysmal 3-for-13 in the first half. He didn’t think the team played well enough or improved on the "little things" that they needed to accomplish to win: rebounds, turnovers and more.

The 17-0 run damaged the Spartans. It demolished their defense, stripped away much of their offensive momentum and gave Broome more confidence and status for the remainder of the game. From the run, Izzo didn’t know if MSU could come back.

"We just couldn’t recover from that 17-0 run," Izzo said. "It wasn’t through a lack of effort. It wasn’t through a lack of anything, except we played a good team. Broome hurt us early. It just didn’t feel like once that happened, we could ever (get back)."

Cooper, who guarded Broome for part of the game, knew the Spartans had to attack from the beginning of the game and not fall behind. He knew Auburn could take advantage of MSU’s slow start and poor performance and run with it — grab a lead and never let it go.

"It was a rough stretch," Cooper said. "Stupid turnovers, miscommunication. Stuff like that kills us. It just took us out of the game right there. We had to be better, and we just didn’t come through this time."

Broome finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds — a stat line typical for the 6-foot-10 center, who’s in contention for National Player of the Year. Cooper said Broome made it "tough on us" and "punched us in the mouth" throughout the game, dominating for all 40 minutes.

Holloman played 21 minutes but scored only two points on 0-for-10 shooting, missing five three-pointers, and added two assists and two turnovers. He was part of Auburn’s 17-0 run that essentially sealed the game, admitting he played poorly during that stretch. Even with MSU improving in the second half, they still fell short, losing 70-64.

"I gotta play better," Holloman said. "I feel like I let my team down. We tried to give it our best but came up short. We couldn’t get shots, we couldn’t get stops.”

Frankie Fidler, a senior transfer from Omaha who came off the bench, recognized the significance of Auburn’s 17-0 run, which shifted the game in their favor. Auburn’s offense slipped through MSU’s defensive cracks, and the momentum was theirs. Fidler finished with nine points on 2-for-4 shooting in 14 minutes and grabbed five rebounds.

"We didn’t want to start slow, and we let them go on a run," Fidler said. "From there, it was all climbing back uphill, and that made it harder."

The Spartans didn’t give up. Trailing by nine at halftime, they knew Auburn had control and needed to rally. But despite scoring 40 points in the second half, their efforts fell short. Still, they fought until the final seconds.

"Obviously, we didn’t get off to a great start the way we wanted to, but we just kept fighting and fighting," Kohler said. "That’s what’s so special about this group of guys, because no matter how bad it may seem, we never give up, and we never let our minds go down that hole that this won’t work out."

Freshman guard Jase Richardson, who has shined and led the team offensively in recent months, agreed. 

"We’re never going to just lie down and give up," Richardson said. "That’s not the Spartan way. Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way tonight.”

Izzo received his first loss against an SEC team in March Madness after 11 games.