Playing its first true road game of the season, Michigan State went into halftime down three and came out of the locker room on a 15-2 run.

Then the 10-point lead built on Saturday at Penn State disappeared in just 71 seconds as the Nittany Lions surged back in front with a furious spurt.

No. 9 Michigan State (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten) made the last push to secure a 76-72 victory and one coach Tom Izzo felt fortunate to leave Happy Valley with.

“The only thing I’m proud of my guys about is I did not think we played well … but we did find a way in the end,” Izzo told reporters after the game,“ and good teams have to find a way to win because they had a lot of things going for them.”

The Spartans’ two-game December dip into Big Ten play is over and they’ll close out nonconference play with a trio of matchups before heading to Nebraska on Jan. 2. Up next is a visit from Toledo (5-5) on Tuesday (6:30 p.m., Peacock) at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State returned home with what should be fewer distractions after wrapping up final exams to close the fall semester last week. Izzo believes that contributed to his team being a bit sluggish at Penn State and winter break means more practice time.

“When we have no classes, when people finish their school, it should really open their eyes to, hey, we have more time to get better not only individually,” senior forward Jaxon Kohler said last week, “but as a team and we have to take the time we have at practice very seriously.”

Michigan State has plenty to improve on after committing a season-high 17 turnovers at Penn State, which led to 23 points, and the team was also outscored off the bench and in the paint. The Spartans also finished just 6-for-18 on layups.

“I’m going to make sure that thing gets fixed,” Izzo said of point-blank misses.

Toledo, which opened the season 0-2, dropped three of its last four games, including at Oakland and Robert Morris by a combined six points in its last two outings. The Rockets have five players averaging double-digit scoring and are led by guard Sonny Wilson at 16.1 points per game but struggle defensively.

Michigan State will have a chance to run out a new starting five for the second straight game after Divine Ugochukwu posted career highs with 23 points and five made triples at Penn State. He became the third different player to start at shooting guard for the Spartans this season, following Kur Teng and Trey Fort.

“Divine did a great job offensively, he’s got some work to do defensively,” Izzo said. “That’s where we’re at.”

Ugochukwu, a sophomore transfer from Miami, moving from playing primarily as the backup point guard behind Jeremy Fears to off the ball created a few new issues for the Spartans. Teng and Fort were pushed down and there were rotational concerns, including Denham Wojcik committing three turnovers in five minutes of play backing up Fears.

“I ain’t worried about that at all,” Izzo said. “We’re going to play Denham some because we have some consistency then.”

Freshman Jordan Scott can play on the wing and is another option at 2-guard. He earns time with hustle and hard work and after opening the season 1-for-13 from 3-point range, is 5-for-9 from beyond the arc the last three games.

“He just needs reps and he does live the game, he’s in there morning, noon and night,” Izzo said of Scott. “He’s going to get better and you’re going to see him playing more and more and more minutes.”

Nine wins in the first 10 games – including four Quad 1 victories to tie for the national lead – is a strong start for the Spartans. It’s also not one Izzo is satisfied with and noted guys who need to step up.

“I’ve got to coach better, they’ve got to play better or we’re going to be just a good team,” Izzo said. “Good teams are alright if you’re a lot of places, not all right if you’re at my place.”