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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe Lansing State Journal\u2019s Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press\u2019 Chris Solari and Shawn Windsor discuss MSU\u2019s basketball team after its loss to Duke.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
EAST LANSING \u2014 For the first time this season, Michigan State basketball<\/a> will face two new circumstances.<\/p>\n Playing after a loss. And playing a true road game.<\/p>\n The ninth-ranked Spartans<\/a>, coming off a home loss to No. 3 Duke, resume Big Ten play against Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, Dec. 13 (noon, Big Ten Network).<\/p>\n \u201cWe have concerns like we always do,\u201d MSU coach Tom Izzo said after practice Thursday. \u201cBut they get a little more because of the circumstances we\u2019re dealt with. \u2026 Hopefully, we\u2019re over our little hangover of losing that game at home.\u201d<\/p>\n Here is a look at what to expect from the final Big Ten game of 2025 for MSU (8-1, 1-0) against the surging Nittany Lions<\/a> (8-2, 0-1).<\/p>\n PAYDAY: <\/strong>Michigan State makes Tom Izzo highest-paid basketball coach in Big Ten<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n MSU has been off for finals this week following Saturday\u2019s 66-60 loss to the Blue Devils<\/a> at Breslin Center, a nationally televised opportunity both Izzo and his players felt they let slip<\/a>. It spoiled the Spartans<\/a>\u2019 season-opening eight-game win streak that included neutral-court wins over Kentucky and North Carolina and a home victory over Arkansas.<\/p>\n But falling at home for the first time since Feb. 11 to Indiana<\/a> \u2013 MSU\u2019s only loss last season at Breslin \u2013 also has amplified motivation.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can tell that everybody is excited for the next game,\u201d senior forward Jaxon Kohler said after Thursday\u2019s practice. \u201cEverybody just can\u2019t wait to get back there on the floor against another team and kind of right our wrongs. That Duke loss gave us a fire.\u201d<\/p>\n With his team once again an opponent during a T-shirt giveaway, Izzo is expecting a raucous environment at the typically staid Bryce Jordan Center. Much like how his team got an energy boost with the public introduction of football coach Pat Fitzgerald while stomping Iowa in the Dec. 2 Big Ten opener, 71-52, Izzo believes new PSU football coach Matt Campbell will add excitement for a Penn State fanbase that typically forgets about Mike Rhoades\u2019 basketball program.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be Fourth of July and Christmas. \u2026 Which shouldn\u2019t bother us, because we\u2019re used to playing in front of big crowds, even on the road,\u201d Izzo said. \u201cBut it might up them. And plus, Mike\u2019s a hell of a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n MSU\u2019s only true road test so far this season came during the exhibition season, a 76-69 defeat against No. 5 UConn in Hartford, Connecticut.<\/p>\n ON THE GRIDIRON: <\/strong>Michigan State board formally approves hiring Pat Fitzgerald as football coach<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Figuring out his two-guard situation remains one of Izzo\u2019s biggest priorities between now and the resumption of Big Ten play, with PSU and three more nonconference games \u2013 Dec. 15 at home vs. Toledo, Dec. 20 vs. Oakland in Detroit and Dec. 29 at home vs. Cornell \u2013 between now and the Jan. 2 trip to Nebraska.<\/p>\n Izzo went from starting sophomore Kur Teng to inserting senior transfer Trey Fort into the lineup before going back to Teng over the past two games. Against Duke, MSU turned to lanky freshman Jordan Scott for a longer look at shooting guard, and sophomore transfer Divine Ugochukwu also has split his minutes between the one and the two when he and starting point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. are on the court together.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve made no secrets. We\u2019re trying to find the right thing,\u201d Izzo said. \u201cWe\u2019re giving everybody a little bit of a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Among that quartet, Teng leads the way with 5.4 points a game in his 14.4 minutes while Fort averages 15.8 minutes and 5.3 points. Combined, the Teng-Fort-Scott-Ugochukwu group is shooting just 28.9% from 3-point range (28-for-97). The rest of the Spartans are a combined 33-for-84 from deep (39.3%).<\/p>\n Rhodes is off to a second straight strong start in three seasons with the Nittany Lions, who opened the 2024-25 campaign 12-2 before losing 13 of their last 17. PSU finished 16-15 overall and 6-14 in conference play, and it was one of the three teams to not qualify for the 2025 Big Ten Tournament.<\/p>\n The Nittany Lions have feasted on mid-major foes so far this season, with their lone nonconference loss a 77-65 neutral-court defeat by Providence on Nov. 22. They opened Big Ten play Tuesday on the road at Indiana and were completely shellacked, 113-72.<\/p>\n Point guard Kayden Mingo (6-foot-3) leads PSU at 15.4 points with four assists, 2.1 steals and 3.8 rebounds per game, while fellow freshman shooting guard Melih Tunca (6-5) is averaging 12.8 points with 3.5 assists a game. Center Ivan Juric (7-0) posts 9.7 points and four rebounds, while forward Josh Reed (6-10) averages 10 points and 3.9 boards. Junior guard Freddie Dilione (6-5) adds 13.3 points a game off the bench.<\/p>\n MSU has won four straight and seven of its past eight meetings against the Nittany Lions.<\/p>\n The energy influx is short-lived for the Nittany Lions, as Fears and the Spartans assert themselves quickly with a distancing run from the outset. The friendly rims open for MSU\u2019s outside shooters from there, giving Izzo\u2019s team a two-game cushion to begin the quest to repeat as Big Ten champs heading into 2026. The pick: <\/strong>MSU 82, Penn State 69.<\/p>\n Contact Chris Solari: <\/em>csolari@freepress.com<\/em><\/a>. Follow him\u00a0<\/em>@chrissolari<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes on\u00a0<\/em>Apple Podcasts<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a> or anywhere you listen to podcasts.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js<\/a> MSU basketball video analysis after the Spartans\u2019 66-60 loss to Duke The Lansing State Journal\u2019s Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press\u2019 Chris Solari and Shawn Windsor discuss MSU\u2019s basketball team after its loss to Duke. EAST LANSING \u2014 For the first time this season, Michigan State basketball will face two new circumstances. Playing after a … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Michigan-State-basketball-gets-new-test-with-first-true-road.JPG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13192,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13190\/revisions\/13192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fueling a fire<\/h2>\n
Take 2<\/h2>\n
Penn State update<\/h2>\n
Chris Solari’s prediction<\/h2>\n
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