Michigan State Basketball: 5 reasons not to panic after Michigan loss

3. Miles Bridges showed he’s ready to answer Izzo’s call

You can fault Miles Bridges for not keeping his promise and exacting revenge on Michigan for what it did to the Spartans in Ann Arbor last season. He had the Michigan game circled on his calendar for a year but couldn’t ignite a fire under his teammates to play with the same passion as him — but that’s not his job to get his teammates fired up for a rivalry game, that should happen regardless.

What we can’t blame him for is the team’s effort. He gave it his all even though he still received a ton of criticism, driving to the hoop more and attacking the basket instead of just settling for 3-pointers.

In fact, he was just 1-for-5 from the perimeter and 7-of-14 from the floor on the day. His 3-point shot has regressed this season, but he will shoot his way out of the slump. He did show the ability to get to the hole and make contested layups, floaters and absorb contact along the way. That’s a major step in the right direction.

The only negative to take away from his play on Saturday was the fact that he didn’t play solid defense and he turned the ball over too much. Luckily, he’s smart enough to work on these things until he’s blue in the face. Bridges looked more aggressive and that’s what this team needs moving forward.