EAST LANSING – An intrepid reporter asked coach Tom Izzo a question he could not quite fathom.Was No. 8 Michigan State basketball’s 66-60 loss to No. 4 Duke more frustrating or discouraging? Izzo came up with his own third option.“Is pissed off in there?”That’s the reaction when Izzo watches a five-point lead evaporate midway through the second half, and the Spartans couldn’t get back in front. It’s what happens when little details become major issues, such as a free-throw box out leading to an easy putback. It’s how Izzo gets when he sees the ball movement that helped MSU win its first eight games and take that lead against the unbeaten Blue Devils disappear in the final 10-plus minutes.And losing yet again to Duke – Izzo is now 3-15 all-time and 0-3 at Breslin Center against the Blue Devils – adds to the angst and anger of the initial impressions of how things went awry in the final two minutes. Especially because, to Izzo, it was effort-related issues from the Spartans and not a chasm of talent between the two teams.“It’s definitely gnawing that its things that we can get better at,” said junior swingman Coen Carr, who had 10 points on just 4-for-13 shooting. “It’s so easy and its so fixable. It’s definitely better just having that and knowing that. It just makes you want to get better at those things, for sure.”READ MORE: MSU-Duke winners/losers: Jeremy Fears needs to shoot betterMuch of the stagnation for MSU’s offense came following Jordan Scott’s back-to-back 3-pointers, the second of which forced Duke coach Jon Scheyer to call timeout with 12:43 remaining and the Spartans leading, 45-40. The Blue Devils (10-0) switched to a 2-3 zone that MSU had issues with, finishing 6-for-21 and didn’t make another 3-pointer after Scott’s two.“It’s discouraging, because I didn’t think we did the things – I have some key guys that didn’t do the things that they have done for two and three years,” Izzo said. “I can’t be discouraged about the missed shots, because we’re not a great shooting team. Now, I think we’re a better shooting team than we shot. But how many layups did we miss?”Ten. The Spartans made just five of their 15 layup attempts in the game and had more 3-pointers, going 8-for-22 from deep including four from Jaxon Kohler before halftime that Scheyer said partly led to shifting to the zone in the second half.“When Kohler hits four 3s in the first half, it spooks you a little bit,” Scheyer said. “That’s not necessarily their strength with what they do, so we had to adjust starting there. And obviously Scott gave them a big lift. I think it was just a combination of just trying to keep everything in front of us and give them a different look, especially in the second half.”After MSU’s Carson Cooper smothered Cam Boozer in the first half to just two points on 1-for-4 shooting, the Duke star took control after halftime with 16 of his 18 points coming in the second half. One of those buckets, a 3-pointer, came over freshman Cam Ward from deep. Boozer, who also grabbed 15 rebounds, delivered his fifth and most important assist with a kickout pass off a post double-team by MSU that led to a 3-pointer from Caleb Foster with 16.7 seconds to play that essentially ended hope for the Spartans.MSU didn’t help itself, either, especially when Duke uncharacteristically missed eight free throws. Kohler said it was “totally on me” for missing the box out on one that incensed Izzo.“That’s something that I’m really disappointed in myself, because I feel like I’ve never had a problem with it,” said Kohler, who had just two of his 14 points in the second half. “But today in a big game, it led to huge possessions. I think it kind of predicted the outcome of this game.”MSU also got paltry production from its five-guard rotation, with starters Jeremy Fears Jr. and Kur Teng combining to go 0-for-15 from the floor. Reserves Scott, Trey Fort and Divine Ugochukwu combined for 11 points but taking just eight shots between them, making half of them.Fears, despite tying a career high with 13 assists and making all six of his free throws, took ownership of his 0-for-10 shooting performance and the lack of continued offensive rhythm once Duke shifted to its zone.“It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing. We didn’t do what we needed to,” Fears said. “We gave up offensive rebounds, we gave loose balls, we gave up a foul on a (3-pointer), we gave up an and-1. Just some of those small plays we don’t give up, it just changed the game. So it was kind of frustrating.“But good thing we learned that lesson in December, where we got a couple months ahead. We will grow, and we’ll keep getting better.”Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts..oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tom Izzo pissed off after Duke beats Michigan State basketball