History will have to wait for at least one more game.
The Michigan State Spartans had a chance to give head coach Tom Izzo his record-tying 353rd Big Ten win on Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. But the Spartans were a step slow in all phases of the game, never led, and fell to the Trojans of Southern California by a score of 70-64.
Jeremey Fears led the Spartans with 12 points and six assists. Jaden Akins contributed 11 points and Jaxon Kohler led the Green and White with eight rebounds.
Both teams shot an identical 24-for-57 from the field and shot an identical 19 free throws. But the Trojans hit two more three-pointers and four more free throws to secure the six-point win. USC was the tougher team and was quicker to the ball all afternoon.
The Spartans got off to a slow start, turning the ball over on their first two possessions and missing the first three shots of the game.
Meanwhile, the Trojans had things rolling early on the offensive end. USC scored on nine straight possessions in the middle of the first half and in the process opened an early 22-7 lead.
For the Spartans, Frankie Fidler and Coen Carr provided some energy off the bench. With 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Fidler got a layup in transition and was fouled to complete the three-point play. This play seemed to give the Spartans the spark that they needed to get back into the game.
Carr then got near the rim and scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the lead to six, 22-16. The Spartans continued to chip away at the Trojans lead, but trailed by three, 35-32, at the break.
Carr led the Spartans with seven points at halftime, with both Tre Holloman and Jase Richardson contributing six points. Kohler led the Spartans with four rebounds at the break.
The Trojans came out of the locker room hot in the second half, hitting seven of their first nine shots, including two answered prayers from deep as the shot clock expired. With 13:24 to play, the Trojans lead was once again ten points, 55-45.
But the Spartans did not go away quietly. They cranked up the defensive intensity and put up a 7-0 run over the next five minutes. With 8:37 left to play, the USC lead was down to 57-54.
For a moment, it appeared that the Spartans were wearing out the Trojans with their depth, but USC was able to find another gear as the Spartans made multiple, critical errors in the closing minutes of the game.
A possession with six minutes remaining and the home team clinging to a six-point lead was indicative of the Spartans' problems. USC missed three shots from deep, grabbed three offensive rebounds, drew two fouls, and eventually hit two free throws with the ball never crossing half court, to extend the lead to 63-56.
A few minutes later with the Spartans trailing by just five points with one minute remaining, Michigan State showed no sense of urgency after an offensive rebound and turned the ball over on a shot clock violation.
Finally, with under 10 seconds on the clock in a five-point game, USC missed two late free throws to potentially keep Michigan State's hopes alive, but the Spartans failed to control the rebound and gave the Trojans two more free throws.
Michigan State will now have two days to regroup in the southern California sun. Tuesday night the Spartans will complete their west coast business trip with a game at the suddenly hot UCLA Bruins.
UCLA is on a five-game winning streak and will likely be favored to hand the Spartans their second loss of the Big Ten season. The game tips at 10:00 p.m. EST and will once again air on Peacock.
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