Nebraska Basketball: 3 takeaways from Huskers loss to Michigan State

Nebraska basketball went down to Michigan State Thursday night at home and here are three important takeaways from the Huskers loss.

There is no question that when the Nebraska basketball team took the floor against sixth-ranked Michigan State Thursday night, it was one of the biggest games of Tim Miles career as head coach.

After all, these are the kinds of games Nebraska basketball needs to start winning if the program is going to advance to the next level and with one of the most talented teams and starting lineups in program history, the Huskers need to take that next step.

Unfortunately, that step wasn’t taken Thursday night as the Huskers left Pinnacle Bank Arena with a 70-64 loss to Michigan State, which now sits alone atop the Big Ten standings at 7-0. Nebraska basketball is now 3-4 (conference) and still without that signature win that will ensure its spot in the NCAA tournament.

There will be other chances and other big matchups, but the Huskers let one slip away Thursday night. The defense was on point and the offensive execution was pretty good, Nebraska just couldn’t get the ball to go in the basket.

Michigan State is a good defensive team. Let’s not undersell that impact, but Nebraska got lots of good looks that it just didn’t hit, especially from 3-point range and around the rim. Spartans head coach Tom Izzo had good things to say about the Huskers and so did Andy Katz. Yet, moral victories don’t matter come March.

So, here is a look at three things we learned from the loss to Michigan State.