Michigan State basketball ‘soul-searching’ after Wisconsin blowout

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Michigan State basketball ‘soul-searching’ after Wisconsin blowout

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MADISON, WI – Tom Izzo didn’t mince his words.

That 92-71 loss No. 10 Michigan State basketball suffered to Wisconsin on Friday, February 13?

The work the Badgers did from the outside and inside to dominate from start to finish?

The toughness they showed that the Spartans just couldn’t summon, even after showing the grit to come back from big deficits over the past month?

MSU’s coach simply called it a “good old-fashioned kick.”

“Listen. We played well against everyone. Everyone. From Duke to Michigan, we played well against everyone,” he said after the Spartans’ third loss in four games. “Tonight we got beat by a team that I think was a little better than us. But we got beat by a team that played a lot better than us. … They outplayed us in every aspect of the game.”

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo makes a call during the first half of their game against Wisconsin on Friday, February 13, 2026 at the Kohler Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

There was no comeback this time, not like the ones the Spartans had in wins over Rutgers (on the road) and No. 7 Illinois (at home) and in losses to No. 2 Michigan (at home) and Minnesota (on the road). However, it was the fifth straight game in which MSU (20-5, 10-4 Big Ten) found itself trailing by double digits. This, after playing the first 20 games of the regular season without being led, at any time, by more than nine.

The Spartans might have mounted a comeback, but every time they took Wisconsin’s lead to 18 in the first half, the Badgers either made a 3-pointer — erupting the sold-out Kohl Center crowd — or they attacked MSU in the post for a demoralizing bucket.

“It’s because of them. They made us pay for everything,” said point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who had 14 points and 12 assists but made only three of 12 shots. “Missed coverages. Offensive rebounds. Loose balls. They got an and-1, they fouled out. We didn’t do our part as players. The coaches gave us the answers, we didn’t do what we had to do.” do.”

One example: After falling behind by double digits not even 10 minutes later, Fears made a 3-pointer and assisted Jordan Scott on consecutive 3-pointers in transition for a 9-0 run, cutting Wisconsin’s lead in half with 4:54 left before halftime. Badgers coach Greg Gard called a timeout, and shortly after, reserve guard Jack Janicki hit a 3 to stop it.

Fears was fouled shooting again 3 moments later and made all three free throws, but Wisconsin’s 7-footer Nolan Winter drove down the right side of the lane around Cam Ward for a layup, drawing Carson Cooper’s second foul after Winter had already let go.

After the media timeout, Winter missed the ensuing free throw. But MSU goalkeeper Kur Teng failed to seal it when coming out of the box, and Winter turned around him for the rebound. Teng then drifted into the lane and fouled Winter again to put him back on the line. Winter made one of two to make it a 12-point game, and the Spartans couldn’t get within single digits the rest of the game.

“It’s illegal in the state of Michigan, and so that kind of person could be put in jail for that,” Izzo said without naming Teng, citing how much he focuses on free throws as a coach. “Because it’s inexcusable. … They gave us a chance by missing some free throws and getting some rebounds. I don’t know if we just thought it was going to go in, but it kind of told the story of the night for me, to be honest with you.”

John Blackwell of the Wisconsin Badgers battles for a loose ball with Kur Teng of the Michigan State Spartans during the second half at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin, Friday, February 13, 2026.

MSU never led. The only other time that happened this season was in the 76-73 loss to Minnesota on February 4. The Spartans trailed No. 6 Duke on Dec. 6 by six and No. 8 Nebraska on Jan. 2 by nine in those losses, which were by eight points overall. The Spartans went from down 16 to two against the Gophers after coming back from down 18 in the first half to take a second-half lead before ultimately falling in their Jan. 30 home loss to UM, 83-71.

Wisconsin (18-7, 10-4) handed MSU its first loss of 20 points or more since February 22, 2022 at Iowa. The Badgers’ 91 points were the most by an MSU Big Ten opponent since the Hawkeyes’ miracle comeback to beat the Spartans in overtime, 112-106, on Feb. 25, 2023.

Junior forward Coen Carr, who led MSU with 19 points, said he couldn’t remember a game in his three years where the Spartans were so outmatched, outworked and outplayed.

“Even my freshman year, when we lost 15 games, I don’t think we had a loss that bad. Maybe North Carolina in the (2024 NCAA) tournament had that kind of vibe,” Carr said. “But I think it’s definitely, by far, the worst. I feel like as a team the way we played defense made it even worse.”

Nick Boyd and John Blackwell combined for 53 points for Wisconsin while going 9-for-16 from 3-point range. Wisconsin shot 48.4 percent overall and made 15 of 35 from behind the arc. The Spartans were outscored in the paint, 28-14, and they allowed 19 second-chance points off the Badgers’ 11 offensive rebounds. (The two teams were tied on rebounds, 38-38.)

Wisconsin guard Nick Boyd (2) hits a three-pointer during the second half of their game Friday, February 13, 2026 at the Kohler Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin beat 10th-ranked Michigan State 92-71.

Jaxon Kohler went scoreless in the first half and finished with just five points on 2-for-6 shooting, and he had just one of his seven rebounds in the second half. Cooper was 3-for-6 for six points with eight rebounds, but was limited all game by foul trouble. MSU made just 1 of 7 layups and finished 5 of 18 on 2-point attempts in the first half.

“In the post, they had an aggressive double team, and we weren’t prepared for that,” Kohler said. “And I take full responsibility for that. I was trying to be better at getting the ball out of the post, but I didn’t do a good enough job. I let everyone down.”

With six games remaining in the regular season, the Spartans’ hopes of repeating as Big Ten champions are all but gone and certainly out of their control as they sit three games behind conference leader Michigan. MSU hosts UCLA (which visits UM for the first time on Saturday) at the Breslin Center on Tuesday (8:30 p.m., Peacock). This begins a two-game homestand, with the Spartans knowing they need to hurry before the calendar flips to March.

“We need to do some soul searching, man,” Carr said. “Whatever we do now as a team – in the locker room, before the game, in training – whatever we do is not working. So we have to find a solution.

“I think we need to get back to our principles and what we are as a school. I feel like we’ve gotten away from that. Just play hard. No more thinking, no more indecision. Everybody comes to the wall to play.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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