The Michigan State men's basketball team was defeated by Wisconsin on Tuesday night by a final score of 70-57. The Spartans fell to 4-4 overall on the 2023-2024 season, and 0-1 in Big Ten play.

Following the game, several Spartans spoke about the loss in the locker room. Many of the players discussed their disappointment, slow starts, what needs to change moving forward and more.

Speaking of slow starts, that has seemingly been an issue for the Spartans for the majority of the young season thus far. It was not any different on Tuesday night when Wisconsin jumped out to an early 11-2 lead less than five minutes into the game. Later in the first half, the Badgers led by as many as 12 points.

Michigan State fought back to close the gap to as few as five points with 2:26 remaining before halftime, but ultimately went into the locker room down by 11 points, 34-23.

The Spartans came out looking rejuvenated in the second half. At one point, graduate senior guard Tyson Walker made each of his first five shot attempts in the half, including hitting three 3-pointers.

Senior point guard A.J. Hoggard also made two three-pointers, recording 10 points and dishing out six assists in the second half alone. At one point, MSU cut Wisconsin's lead down to just three points, 49-46, with 12:55 left to play in the game.

Ultimately, though, the comeback effort fell short and the Spartans lost by double-digits. Several of the players spoke about how the energy it took just to get back into the game took a toll on the Spartans, and noted the importance of getting off to better starts.

"We just keep being down (in) the first half and then trying to come back," Walker said about the slow starts. "We cut (Wisconsin's lead) down to (three points), but we get tired. So, you gotta put in too much effort to come back. So, we can't keep doing that."

While Walker did mention that the run in the second half felt good, he's looking for more consistency from himself and his teammates and better full-game performances.

"It's always nice to make shots," Walker said about the second half. "We've just gotta do it (in the) first half when we're wide open. If we make any kind of shots (in the) first half, it's a closer game. So, we've just gotta do that."

Walker finished the game with a team-high 22-points and recorded four rebounds. Hoggard finished second on the team in scoring with 14 points and led the Spartans in assists with seven, while also recording four boards.