USC and Michigan State met on Saturday in their first-ever meeting as conference opponents in the new Big Ten. It was also the first West Coast B1G trip for the Spartans in the first of 2 games to be played in Los Angeles for Tom Izzo’s unit.

While MSU was rolling heading out to California, the Spartans will be looking to salvage the LA trip against UCLA with the Trojans mounting a 70-64 win to stun No. 7 MSU on Saturday. It’s the first top-10 win for Eric Musselman leading USC and the first top-10 win since an upset of Arizona last March.

The Spartans entered the game riding a 13-game winning streak with a 9-0 record in B1G play. However, it was the Trojans who opened the game with a 13-4 run and came up with the key answers throughout the game.

Michigan State made sure this one was never easy, including cutting the lead to 35-32 entering halftime. But opening the 2nd half, the Trojans were able to build a double-digit lead all the way to 55-45 with 13:24 to play.

True to form, Izzo’s group battled back and made it a 3-point game again at 57-54 with just over 8 minutes left to play. But USC responded with a quick 4-0 and never let the game get closer than 5 points the rest of the way.

Desmond Claude led the Trojans and all scorers with a game-high 19 points to go with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Wesley Yates III also chipped in 15 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

Jeremy Fears Jr. led the Spartans with 12 points and Jaden Akins added 11.

The Spartans will stay out in LA for one more game on the road (at UCLA) on Tuesday night before returning to East Lansing next Saturday. Stay tuned to our Michigan online sports betting options for all the odds and gaming options.

Big Ten impact

The Big Ten race was always bound to tighten, even after the Spartans rattled off 9 straight victories to open league play. Michigan State still leads the conference entering February, but it is shaping up to be a fun month.

Purdue enters February half a game behind MSU at 9-2 in the B1G after a dramatic win over Indiana Friday night. The Boilermakers lost an early B1G game to Penn State and recently to Ohio State but went 2-0 in their West Coast swing and blew out Michigan at home.

Behind the Boilermakers, Michigan lurks at 8-2 in the league and 1 game behind the Spartans for first place in the B1G. The Wolverines rescued a narrow 66-63 win at Rutgers on Saturday, snapping out of back-to-back losses on the road (Minnesota, Purdue) to stay close in the conference.

Michigan State has yet to play either Purdue or Michigan so far this season. The Spartans will get Purdue at home on Feb. 18 and will play at Michigan on Feb. 21 before ending the season against the Wolverines in East Lansing on March 9.