From the opening tip to the final horn, the Spartans and Wolverines battled in a physical, fast-paced game filled with the tension that defines the rivalry.

A potent Wolverine offense fueled by quick drives and accurate shooting handed the Spartans their second loss to Michigan this season.

With the regular season behind them, the Spartans finished 25-6 (15-5 Big Ten) and now turn their attention to the tournaments ahead. 

"There’s no moral victory, but I’m proud of my team," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "We deserve what we got, and we will get better."

This week, MSU will travel to Chicago as the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans will receive a triple-bye and won’t play until Friday, March 13. Following the Big Ten Tournament, which concludes Sunday, March 15, MSU will await its NCAA Tournament selection.

Two tournaments await. For MSU to find itself successful in either, successes must be harped on and faults must be improved. 

Freshmen play 

In Sunday’s loss to Michigan, MSU’s freshmen were absent.

Starting guard Jordan Scott struggled to find his shot and lacked his usual intensity, while forward Cam Ward fell into early foul trouble and had little impact.

Scott finished 1-for-7 with two points and two rebounds. His offense was missing when the team needed it most.

For Ward, he finished going 0-for-2 with zero points and only one rebound. His four fouls took him out of the game, creating difficult matchups that benefited the Wolverines. 

"I thought our freshmen looked like freshmen," Izzo said. "They looked like deer in headlights. Nobody’s going to pat them on the back. They've got 31 games in them. [How they played] is just a part of the process. So there’s not a guy that I’m not proud of, just as there’s not a guy that I’m not mad at."

For MSU to make a tournament run, the Spartan freshmen must play better than they played against Michigan. Both Scott and Ward have talent to change the outcome of a game. Their defense, physicality, intensity and shot selection make them a pair of players that must be marked in red on the opponents scouting report. 

If they’re on, MSU can win a lot of games in March. If they’re off, outcomes such as Sunday’s defeat may send the Spartans home packing. 

Consistent defense

To begin the season, defense was no issue for the Spartans. At one point, they ranked as the nation’s No. 1 defense. But as the season progressed, MSU’s defense began slipping from a strength toward a weakness.

This weakness was seen against Michigan, where MSU struggled when adjusting to ball screens. The Spartans were slow on switches, allowing Michigan’s offense to create enough separation to allow the ball handler to find an open man or to cut to the basket with dribble drives.

"We made some boneheaded plays," Izzo said. "We didn't step up on ball screens and we let them get downhill because of it. It was a variety of our players that did that. I think the mistakes that were made are so correctable."

MSU’s defense is good. At points, it can be a suffocating force. At other points, it can drown. For there to be hopes of cutting nets, MSU must find consistency in this defense because one game of inconsistency could result in the end of the 2025-26 Spartan season. 

The impact of depth 

When sophomore guard Divine Ugochukwu went down with an ankle injury against Minnesota on Feb. 4, MSU lost a little bit of depth. Since Ugochukwu’s injury, the Spartans haven’t fully recovered. 

Depth was a factor in MSU’s loss to Michigan. Not only were Spartan players running up and down the court with no sub in sight, there also was a lack of Spartan players to touch the court. Only six Spartans played more than 10 minutes, and those six were the only players to score. It was an opposite situation for Michigan. The Wolverines played eight players for over 10 minutes, with all of them scoring. 

"I’m mad at my staff because I wanted to get Jeremy Fears out of the game because he was getting tired," Izzo said. "He gave up a 3 on the left wing, flat out, because he was dead tired. I was proud of everything except I think that we were tired. So I gotta do a little better on that myself."

The usage of depth is also opposite of MSU’s last-year self. In the 2024-25 season, MSU basketball relied upon its depth to roll deep in the NCAA tournament. On a typical night, MSU saw nine to 10 players on the court, contributing in more ways than one. It was a factor that carried the Spartans into the Elite Eight.

This March, that factor will have to return. If this can’t happen, then it falls on the MSU coaches to regulate substitutions better so fatigue doesn’t influence the outcome. If neither can happen, then MSU must be prepared to exit the tournaments without a trophy. 

"I want to practice when I get home," Izzo said. "There’s not a lot of margin for error when you get closer to the top. But I think we are getting better."

March is tournament basketball. Regardless of the outcome of this game — or any during the regular season — MSU has a shot to cut nets and bring home a trophy. MSU opens Big Ten Tournament play in Chicago on Friday, March 13, against an opponent yet to be determined.