LOS ANGELES — Mick Cronin said he knew he was actually in the Big Ten when, at the conference’s media day back in October, he ran into Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. Izzo is the longest-tenured head coach in the Big Ten. He took over for the Spartans when he was 40 years old. He’s 70 now and in his 30th season at the helm.

Following the game, Tom Izzo had high praise for the Trojans. "They got good players, and they got good size," Izzo said. "Those guards are bigger than ours, and the 4-men are smaller. And it was just a tough matchup for us.

No. 7 Michigan State suffered just its third loss of the season on Saturday as USC defeated the Spartans, 70-64, in the first game of Michigan State's two-game