Wisconsin Badgers ran into a buzzsaw in East Lansing. This isn’t their fault. They were in such a bad spot headed to Michigan State on Friday night. Spartans are one of the best teams in the nation. Add to the fact, they were embarrassed by Purdue last Sunday, they took out their aggression on the Badgers. The score doesn’t show it, but this game was a blowout. Michigan State won 67-55. This loss doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things for Wisconsin in my opinion.

Player of the Game: Nate Reuevers – Can I ask Wisconsin fans, do they call him ‘Nate’ or ‘Nathan’? Can we clarify that, please? Nate Reuvers had the only good game of anyone on the Badgers’ roster. Reuvers scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He went 50 percent from the field and beyond the 3-point line. While I wondered if Micah Potter took his spot as ‘the man’, but this is still Reuvers’ team.

One Thing to Watch: Wisconsin has to figure out how to get D’Mitrik Trice going – Man, the game log for D’Mitrik Trice for the last five games is ugly. He scored nine, seven, and nine with two goose eggs in there. That’s awful. Trice does have four assists in a couple of those games which helps but Wisconsin needs more from him. You cannot succeed with him playing this poorly. You have to wonder if Wisconsin should make the switch with Trevor Anderson over Trice in the starting lineup.

One Other Thing to Note: Slow starts will kill you on the road – Wisconsin could not make a shot to start the game. Michigan State didn’t exactly light the world on fire either. But with a team like the Badgers where they do not have a potent offense, they’re not build to come back from behind. That’s typically not in Wisconsin’s DNA. But if they were better from three, they would have more of a chance.

Next up: Wisconsin heads home to play Nebraska on Tuesday evening. While the Cornhuskers have been good at home this Big Ten season, they’re woeful on the road. If the Badgers start hot, they’ll be on easy street for the rest of the game. Nebraska allows so much in the paint, so, this could be a big day for Reuvers and Potter.

Charlie.