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

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 13: Head coach Tom Izzo, Associate Head Coach Dwayne Stephens and Assistant Coach Dane Fife of the Michigan State Spartans looks on during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Breslin Center on January 13, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – JANUARY 13: Gavin Schilling #34 of the Michigan State Spartans dunks the ball over Isaiah Livers #4 of the Michigan Wolverines Breslin Center on January 13, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

2. It’s only January and there’s plenty of time to turn it around

Before you hit the panic button and call the season a total failure, look at the calendar. Sure, the doubt has seeped into the fan base, but it’s mid-January and Michigan State is still 16-3. Many teams would kill for panic mode which came with a record such as that with a couple of top-10 wins under their belt.

Michigan State is not most teams, and that much is clear. The Spartans have as much, or more, talent as any team in the country. The potential is through the roof, but they’re going through a slump, and that’s completely fine. It’s the nature of college basketball.

One day, a team is 15-1 with few bumps in the road and 100-point games left and right and the next day that same team is 16-3 with plenty of questions to answer. Luckily, the season is a marathon and not a sprint and this team has time to figure out what went wrong over the past week.

Think about it, we are judging the entire season for Michigan State off of one poor week of play despite the fact that the Spartans had about 8-9 good ones. Relax, Spartan fans, it’s only January and these types of slumps prepare teams for March.

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