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Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from comeback win vs. Penn State

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 31: Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans dunks the ball during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 31: Miles Bridges #22 of the Michigan State Spartans dunks the ball during a game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Breslin Center on January 31, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State was able to come from behind to pick up a big win over Penn State on Wednesday night. What’d we learn?

A win is a win, right? Michigan State needed a little over 25 minutes on Wednesday night to swipe the lead from Penn State and cruise to victory. The Spartans found themselves down by 12 in the second half, but put together a speedy comeback, pulling even with just under 15 to go in the game. Tom Izzo has to be happy with the effort which led to the 21st win of the year.

Sitting at 21-3, Michigan State is going to get each team’s best shot. The Nittany Lions were no exception, especially since they’re no stranger to upsets. They took down Ohio State in Columbus a couple of weeks ago and nearly did the same to the Spartans.

Michigan State ultimately pulled ahead and pulled away, before a barrage of Penn State 3-pointers in garbage time, winning 76-68 in East Lansing.

What’d we learn from Michigan State’s comeback win over Penn State on Wednesday?

5. Turnovers could end up being the downfall of this team

At this point, it might be too late to fix the turnover problem. However, it’s not too late to manage it. The Spartans have issues when it comes to protecting the ball, coughing it up 16 times against Penn State on Wednesday night to the Nittany Lions’ eight.

That wide of a turnover discrepancy is hard to overcome, especially when you fall behind by 12 points in the second half. At that point, though, the Spartans woke up and played much smarter with the ball. They began to value each possession more and I believe that’s the biggest issue — valuing possessions.

This team is young and doesn’t quite realize that each possession could decide the game. You throw a pass right to the defender and he takes it the other way for an easy basket and your team ends up losing by 1-2 points, you can draw it back to the time you were careless with the ball. Luckily, more can happen after that to make up for the turnover, but you get my point.

Michigan State gets too casual and if not for turnovers, this team could be running teams off the court by halftime. If they don’t manage this issue, it’ll be the reason the Spartans are eliminated in March.

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