Trap Game Confirmed: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Michigan State’s Loss to Minnesota

About as ugly as walking in on your parents in the act.

Michigan State drops its second straight game in a one-sided beatdown at the hands of the now 4–8 in Big Ten play Minnesota Gophers.

As I alluded to in my preview article, there was an absolute chance this was another trap game, similar to last week’s Rutgers matchup. I still predicted the Spartans to win by ten—against my better judgment—but knew history was flirting with repeating itself in the most torturous way possible. Only this time, there was no Iron Man armor built out of scraps to blast their way out. Instead, we watched as Michigan State was told to bite the curb, and that’s the last thing anyone remembers.

From tip-off to the final buzzer, Michigan State was lost both offensively and defensively. Minnesota knew exactly how to dethrone the top-10 Spartans—and Izzo knew it too. Coming into the game, Izzo mentioned how the Gophers play a style of basketball that could exploit Michigan State’s weaknesses. He might be psychic, because that’s exactly what happened.

There was a lot of bad and ugly, but we’ll start with the good.

Scott earned his first career start, a proud moment for him—and his mother, who was in attendance and the cameraman made sure everyone knew it. Scott finished with a career-high 15 points and was one of three Spartans to reach double figures.

Scott knocked down two huge three-pointers early in the second half, each one keeping Michigan State within some semblance of striking distance—maybe far, but visible nonetheless. He added a third triple in the final minute to pull the game within six and keep the Spartans hanging around.

There’s a lot to like about Scott’s game. It starts with his basketball IQ, which feels veteran-level for a freshman. His shot, silky smooth, struggled to find its way early in the season, but the confidence is growing and the results are following. His intensity, paired with his ideal basketball frame, allows him to impact the game on the offensive glass, and defensively his length creates turnovers.

Scott may have played more minutes than expected due to an early injury to Divine Ugochukwu, who pulled himself from the game while the Spartans were on offense. He later returned to the bench in the second half in full sweats. We’ll continue to monitor that situation.

Early in the season, the Spartans were fueled by Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler—two players flirting with taking over college basketball. Kohler was firing on all cylinders, knocking down threes like he was Steph Curry. Cooper was playing like a young Shaq, dominating the boards and hammering home dunks. Then, if those two got tired, Coen Carr would come flying in from the ceiling for rebounds and put-backs.

Lately, though, that trio has been more liability than asset.

To be clear, they still rebound—and that can’t be undersold. Rebounding is the backbone of Izzo basketball, and Michigan State would be flirting with sub-.500 territory without it.

But these bigs are costing the Spartans possessions—and ultimately games—with horrific turnovers and junior-varsity shooting. Kohler has gone from a 50% three-point shooter to under 20%, going 5-for-27 over the last six games, including a missed three that could have pulled the Spartans within one with under ten seconds remaining.

Cooper has now committed eight turnovers over the last three games adding one tonight. His scoring has disappeared as well, finishing with a goose egg (0 points). Carr led the team with 16 points, so it’s hard to criticize too much, but there’s clearly something off with his jumper—fortunately, he can dunk from almost anywhere on the floor.

The shooting and turnover issues from the bigs need to normalize, and fast.

Groundhog Day was just a few days ago, but like Bill Murray, it feels like I’ve been reliving the same nightmare every time Michigan State tips off. Every game begins with a putrid first half.

I’m not diving into Matt Garza’s latest conspiracy theories about rims and voodoo. But here’s a thought: Izzo coaches his team like a football team. The first half is about physicality—running the ball, wearing opponents down. That opens passing lanes later, because these games are marathons, not sprints.

You saw that again tonight. Michigan State closed on a 20–2 run to pull within four, but the hole was simply too deep.

This script has played out over and over: dreadful first halves followed by majestic second halves that were just enough to push the Spartans over the edge—sometimes in dominating fashion. But now, teams have adjusted. If not for a miracle three from Ugochukwu against Rutgers, Michigan State could very realistically be staring at a three-game losing streak.

Carson Cooper said he wouldn’t want to be Minnesota after the Michigan loss because the Spartans were going to play with extreme intensity. Instead, he scored zero points in a game where Michigan State looked like a bottom-tier Big Ten team against—literally—a bottom-tier Big Ten team.

Slumps happen. It’s only February. But now is the time to fix what’s broken. Michigan State lost to a team that had won just three conference games, regardless of how close those games were.

It was always a trap game. It’s in the past now. All eyes turn to Illinois, who comes to East Lansing on Saturday for a primetime showdown. The Spartans will need to start fast—and finish faster—if they want to end this damsel-in-distress routine.