Tyson Walker shares biggest lesson from Ohio State loss

Michigan State guard Tyson Walker learned a valuable lesson from a Big Ten Tournament loss to Ohio State this past week. Although the Buckeyes entered the tournament as the No. 13 seed, they knocked out three potential tournament teams on their way to the semifinals, where they lost to Purdue.

Ohio State likely popped Wisconsin‘s bubble in the opening round before going on to also beat Iowa and hand the Spartans a 68-58 loss. It was the typical story we see in March, where anything can happen in college basketball and Cinderella stories take center stage. Although the loss was certainly disappointing for Michigan State, Walker believes it can help prepare the team for what to expect in the NCAA Tournament.

“I would say that it’s March and it’s basically a new season now, people making shots,” he said. “Things change, so you’ve just got to play basketball the best you can, play as hard as you can. You can’t go off of their stats from months ago because people get better, teams get better, and today they showed it.”

The Buckeyes were on a mission against Michigan State and not afraid to let it fly from 3-point range, where they made 10-of-19 (52.6%) of their attempts. In the win-or-go-home nature of March, it’s those kind of performances that contribute to early exits for top teams. It didn’t help that the Spartans were 3-of-16 (18.8%) from beyond the arc by comparison.

Despite the loss, Michigan State is still projected to be a No. 7 seed according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, who has the Spartans facing Auburn in the opening round. Whether they face the Tigers or another team, however, the Spartans will hope to use the lessons learned their Big Ten Tournament loss, knowing just how mad March can be.

The NCAA Tournament field is set to be announced at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on CBS.