Michigan State basketball falls to Nebraska, 77-70, for first 0-2 start since 2020-21

LINCOLN, Neb. — Tyson Walker went from quiet to a roar when Michigan State basketball needed him most.

Until he went silent again.

And the Spartans are in some deep December trouble.

Juwan Gary scored 20 points for Nebraska, including two big baskets after Walker shook off an abysmal start to help MSU rally in the final eight minutes. The Cornhuskers closed the game on a 10-3 run to pull away for a 77-70 victory Sunday night.

The Spartans did not score a field goal in the final 3:11. Walker, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, missed his last two shots after hitting five straight down the stretch. The senior finished 7-for-18.

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MSU had won 11 meetings in a row against the Huskers and the previous five at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

Malik Hall led the Spartans with 22 points and seven rebounds. A.J. Hoggard had 12 points and five rebounds, while Jaden Akins added 10 points as MSU (4-5, 0-2 Big Ten) went 8-for-17 from deep. MSU's 0-2 start is its first time with two losses to open Big Ten play since the 2020-21 season, when the Spartans started 0-3.

However, Nebraska (8-2, 1-1) went 10-for-23 from 3-point range, with Gary hitting two and Keisei Tominaga draining three momentum-building shots beyond the arc among his 15 points. Big man Rienk Mast had eight points but added 14 rebounds and six assists. C.J. Wilcher added 10 points, including a critical 3-pointer late.

The Spartans are off until Saturday, when they face No. 6 Baylor at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Tipoff is 2 p.m. (Fox).

Back-and-forth first half

It wasn’t what Izzo envisioned or wanted, but the Spartans and Cornhuskers played an evenly matched first half —one with three ties and 10 lead changes.

MSU had its biggest enigmas going early, with Hoggard, Akins and Hall combining for 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting with eight rebounds between them in the first half.

However, Walker struggled, particularly when the Huskers put the 6-foot-6 Gary on him. And the Spartans found themselves in a dogfight once Nebraska heated up from outside.

Hoggard was aggressive early at both ends of the floor and in pushing the pace in transition. He ran in transition and scored on a driving layup to start a 7-0 run, which was capped by Akins’ first 3-pointer, to put MSU up 13-6, its largest lead of the half.

But Gary sparked an answering run with a 3-pointer to answer Akins after the Cornhuskers opened the game 0-for-6 from behind the arc. Nebraska would make seven of its next eight 3s, including a pair from Tominaga, back-to-back bombs from Sam Hoiberg as the shot clock expired and another from C.J. Wilcher as part of a 17-5 run that gave the 'Huskers a five-point lead.

Hall’s 3-pointer, a Carson Cooper dunk in transition and another hall layup gave MSU the lead back. The Spartans went on a 9-2 spurt late, with Hoggard draining a 3-pointer and Hall hitting another shot with the shot clock winding down with a minute to go to put them up, 34-31, at half.

Hall had 11 points while Akins and Hoggard each had seven. Walker went just 1-for-4 for two points before half.

Hungover at the half

Although this season's slow starts have mostly been reserved for the outset of games, MSU started the second half sluggishly. And Nebraska took full advantage.

The Cornhuskers ripped off an 11-2 spurt out of the break. They reclaimed a 42-36 lead on Tominaga’s third triple of the game that forced Izzo to call timeout with 16:23 remaining.

The Spartans inched back into things. A 3-pointer by Akins, a short jumper by Hall and an electric alley-oop from Walker to Coen Carr kept Nebraska fans from going over the top with their own energy.

A goaltending call on Carr was overturned after more than three minutes of game play, negating an apparent Sam Hoiberg bucket. Nebraska pushed it back to a three-point lead with two free throws from C.J. Wilcher after the review during a media timeout with 7:05 left.

That’s when Walker finally got going.

Walker was just 2-for-11 when he hit a 3-pointer with 7:24 to play. Then, out of the eventful media timeout, Walker grabbed a loose-ball rebound and raced out for a layup. He followed that with a deep 3-pointer off a return pass from Hall. That tied the game 60-all with 5:39 to play.

A little more than 30 seconds later, Walker caught a pass on the right wing. Sensing Tominaga closing he juked and stepped back. As the Nebraska guard flew by him, Walker drilled a 3-pointer that gave the Spartans a 63-60 lead.

Another Walker score put MSU up 65-62. But Gary scored on a layup and Brice Williams knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Huskers back the lead.

Two Hall free throws tied ith with 2 minutes to play. But Tominaga hit a pair of free throws to answer, then the 6-10 Mast hit a hook shot over 6-4 Hoggard with just over a minute left to add some breathing room for Nebraska.

The Huskers went 8-for-8 at the free-throw line in the final 1:45.

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

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball falls to Nebraska for first time in 12 games