The result wasn't much different than it was the previous day, but Michigan State's 90-69 loss to the Italian national team in Trieste, Italy, on Saturday was a significant upgrade from its 18-point loss on Friday to Russia.
Denzel Valentine led the Spartans with 23 points while Bryn Forbes scored 17. Michigan State made a late run and cut Italy's lead to 70-65 in the fourth quarter, only to watch the Italians close the game on a 20-4 run. Marco Belinelli, a nine-year NBA veteran, led Italy with 25 points.
"We played so much better than we did yesterday, and I think that this is a better team," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.