Three takeaways from Michigan State's upset loss to Minnesota

Michigan State basketball suffered the worst loss of their season on Wednesday evening, dropping a road game to Minnesota, 76-73.

The score does not do the game justice, where the Spartans were behind by double digits for a majority of the contest. A late 20-9 run gave the Spartans an opportunity to potentially steal another outcome, but it was not in the stars tonight, and instead the Golden Gopher faithful got to rush the court after their upset win.

Ultimately, Michigan State has not been good enough lately, and that was evident once again on Wednesday night. It was an uninspiring performance that caught them and caused them to lose back-to-back games for the first time this season.

With Illinois on deck, the Spartans have a lot to get done unless they want to see a three-game losing streak unfold. First, though, here are three takeaways from the loss at Minnesota:

Slow starts

This is officially a big, big problem for MSU. The Spartans got off to another horrific start on Wednesday, marking the third straight game that the team has been behind by double digits early. For the second straight game, it bit them, and they could not overcome the deficit.

At some point, something has got to change, and it has to be more than just tweaking who starts at the shooting guard spot. Whether it be more tweaks to the starting lineup in the front court, or an overhaul of the offensive philosophy early, the team needs to figure out a way to overcome this demon.

Jeremy Fears needs to control himself

Aside from what took over the news from the last few days, it is becoming evident that Jeremy Fears needs to tone it back some. At a key moment in this game, with MSU surging, having momentum and cutting the game to a 5-point deficit, Fears took a total unnecessary dead ball contact technical foul. From that point on, it sparked a 16-7 spurt from the Golden Gophers, extending their lead back to 14.

It was totally an unnecessary play, and tonight, it absolutely derailed the Spartans comeback efforts. At some point in time, there needs to be an adult conversation had about what has happened, and tonight, it may very well have cost his team the game.

Trey Fort

Trey Fort exploded onto the scene once again for the Spartans. An inconsistent year for the Samford transfer, he has not seen himself get the type of role that was envisioned when he transferred this offseason. In part, it feels like it has something to do with Fort's defense, which can be shaky at times, but it is undeniable the offensive fire power he can bring this offense.

Fort came in as a high volume, quality three-point shooter, and this MSU team is severely lacking help outside. Fort can bring a dimension to the half-court offense that the team doesn't have, and who knows, could potentially be the necessary spark this team needs to get out of its funk.

If it were up to me, I would love to see 15-18 minutes a night from the transfer guard.

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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Three takeaways from Michigan State's upset loss to Minnesota