Friday night's game in Madison presented a tremendous opportunity for the Michigan State men's basketball team. The Spartans were on a roll, having won three straight games and eight out of the last 10. A win over Wisconsin would have padded the Spartans' NCAA Tournament resume and allowed Michigan State to stay in the Big Ten race.
Instead, the Spartans fell on their face, never led, and wound up losing by 15 points (81-66). What went wrong in the trip to America's Dairy Land and what does it mean for the future? Let's dig into the data and find out.
Note that the full set of data (and details on how to read the figures) related to Michigan State and the Big Ten race can be found in the odds and data tracker. Today's analysis will highlight the key information and what it all means for the Spartans going forward.
What Went Wrong at Wisconsin?
The best place to start in the autopsy of a 15-point loss is with the four factors. Figure 1 below provides these data.
