Denzel Valentine looks back to normal; Michigan State does not

So much for the idea that Michigan State was poised to contend for the Big Ten title after surviving Denzel Valentine's three-week absence with just a single loss.

So much for the idea that Valentine's arthroscopic knee surgery might even be a blessing for the Spartans if his teammates grew from having to take more responsibility.

Those schools of thought seemed reasonable as recently as a week ago, but neither has come to fruition. A Michigan State team ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of December has lost three games in seven days culminating with Wednesday's surprising 72-71 home loss to unheralded Nebraska.

You could forgive Michigan State's one-sided home loss to Iowa last Thursday. Maybe the Hawkeyes had the Spartans' number this season. You could forgive Michigan State's one-point road loss at Wisconsin on Sunday. The Kohl Center is a tough place to win and the Badgers were desperate.

But this? A home loss to a Nebraska team with a 12-8 record and no victories anywhere close to this notable all season? This is the one that will sound the alarms in East Lansing.

Michigan State's issues on Wednesday night had nothing to do with Valentine not looking like himself. The onetime national player of the year favorite finished with an efficient 24 points, six rebounds and six assists, but the Spartans were ineffective in other facets.

They missed nine free throws. They got 1-for-8 3-point shooting from slumping Bryn Forbes. They also could not contain Nebraska star Shavon Shields, who erupted for 28 points and scored the game's biggest bucket to put his team up four with 20 seconds to go.

Valentine cut the deficit to one with a leaning, off-balance 3-pointer, but he could not come through again a few seconds later. After Nebraska's Tai Webster missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 4.6 seconds to go, Valentine got a relatively clean look at a game-winning jumper only to have it carom harmlessly off the rim.

The big concern for Michigan State is that its next game is against conference favorite Maryland, not exactly the team you want to see when you've lost three in a row. At one time this looked like it could be the Big Ten game of the year, but now the Spartans are merely hoping to snap their losing streak and get their season back on track.

Normally it would be strange to see a Michigan State team regressing over the course of a season instead of getting better. Normally it would be weird to see the Spartans endure Valentine's absence only to lose three straight after his return.

But in this chaotic, upset-filled college basketball season, nothing is bizarre anymore. Unpredictable is the new normal.

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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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