Michigan State basketball suffered its second loss of the season in a road matchup against No. 13 Nebraska. In a tightly contested game where neither team was able to pull away, one glaring issue plagued the Spartans throughout the night and must be addressed moving forward: turnovers.
Michigan State entered the game averaging 11 turnovers per contest, but that number jumped to 19 against Nebraska. That total was two more than the Spartans’ previous season high of 17, which came in a win over Penn State.
Many of the turnovers were unforced, resulting from miscommunication and fundamental mistakes. Freshman forward Cam Ward threw a pass directly out of bounds after misreading a cut by fellow freshman Jordan Scott. Senior center Carson Cooper committed a traveling violation without defensive pressure, and Kur Teng stepped out of bounds twice. Those miscues stalled offensive momentum and repeatedly gave Nebraska extra possessions.
Michigan State will now return home to face the No. 24 USC Trojans, who are coming off a 30-point loss to Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Scouting USC
USC has experienced a season similar to Michigan State’s. While the Trojans have not faced the same level of competition, they enter the matchup with a 12–2 record, including a 1–2 mark in Big Ten play…