Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from win over Southern Utah

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EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 3: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans reacts on the sideline during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Breslin Center on December 3, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

1. Michigan State continues to play down to competition

For the second time in two games during the week, the Spartans played down to their competition. That’s not something Tom Izzo wants to see become a trend and he even welcomed a No. 1 overall ranking for his team because he wants to see how they handle it.

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Most coaches are weary of that No. 1 tag, but Izzo wants to see his team challenged and he’s always talking about avoiding their own “press clippings” as he calls them. It’s one thing to be confident, but he’d rather his team do so without reading into the media’s take on just how good they are.

Each game will feature Michigan State trying to fend off an upset. Each team will bring their best to the table and the Spartans will have a gigantic target on their backs. Playing down to competition is only going to be worse for this team as the season progresses because if you do that in Big Ten action, upsets will happen.

Sometimes it’s difficult to get up for games against lower-tier non-conference foes, so the Spartans need to avoid more lulls like they had against Southern Utah in the first half and until the final 10 minutes of play. No more playing down to competition.

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