There are Flashes of Brilliance, but...

One home loss to a less talented team may be an aberration. But for it to happen twice in 11 days is a pattern.

Look I know Penn State has more talent than Northwestern. And I understand that Taylor Battle hit some miracle shots that he wouldn't make again in an empty gym. But the Nittany Lions basically beat MSU with only three guys scoring, one of whom was on the bench for much of the game with foul trouble.

The fact is MSU played about 12-14 great minutes of basketball Sunday. They fed the ball inside to Delvon Roe and Goran Suton in the post. They played great help defense. They rebounded well. Travis Walton was making steals and getting his team fired up. For virtually the entire first half, they made Penn State nothing more than a three-point shooting team that really only ran isolation plays or jacked up 20-footers. Then Suton gets hammered down low, the refs don't call a foul, and Penn State goes on a 24-10 run to end the half.

Suddenly the second half the defense wasn't as sharp. Durrell Summers was off his game. Suton couldn't make short bunnies. Penn State did a better job on the boards. And the Nittany Lions didn't rely just on three-pointers. They built a lead that they nearly gave up because of poor free throw shooting. But for nearly 30 minutes they were the better team.

The no-call on Suton didn't impact the game because it was a poorly officiated game. There were calls missed on both sides. My point is MSU collapsed after that play because Penn State went on a run and the Spartan assertiveness disappeared. The Spartans this year seem to have a bit of the MSU football mentality pre-2008 in them: when something goes wrong, they begin to tighten up. In past games they have recovered (save Northwestern) but outside of the win at Iowa, has there been a game against a team of even comparable talent that they dominated from start to finish?

Yes, MSU needs Raymar Morgan. But they have more than enough talent and skill to beat Penn State at home without him. Remember when even mediocre (by Izzo standards) MSU teams would beat everyone at home save for maybe Wisconsin and a visiting ACC power? Ultimately I don't see this team winning a conference title. Perhaps it's time to challenge (and encourage) certain players. So here I go:

Chris Allen - Chris, you're a great shooter and at times you play good defense. When you have an open shot, take it. Play under control. You're vital these last 10 conference games.

Marquise Gray - 'Quise, remember than 8-minute stretch at the start of the Illinois game when you were motivated because MoPete's jersey was being retired? Bring that to EVERY game. Give us 10-14 minutes of incredible energy and hustle. Don't worry about committing fouls, be our energy guy off the bench.

Delvon Roe - I love that you always play under control. And I know you may not be 100 percent healthy yet. But you need to be assertive under the basket in more ways than just offensive rebounding. You're up and under move in the first half Sunday was tremendous. Call for the ball, and coach Izzo, run more plays for him. That will open up our perimeter game.

I'm not picking on those guys. They all have had brilliant moments this year. Right now, this MSU team isn't good enough to win 14 conference games. They might not be good enough to win 12 like last year unless they can maintain focus when things start to go south. You'll know whether the team is in trouble by how well they are playing team defense, and whether they are communicating well on that side of the ball.

I don't have the hear to make predictions this week because I'm not sure MSU can beat Minnesota at home. Prove me wrong, guys.