Michigan State Basketball: Report card for overtime loss at Louisville

Losing a tough overtime battle against Louisville on the road was less than ideal, but completely avoidable. How did Michigan State basketball grade out?

Michigan State watched a win go through its grasp with one errant pass.

With a one-point lead and 13 seconds on the clock, the Spartans had the ball, trying to break Louisville’s full-court press. Josh Langford got the ball and tossed it in the direction he thought Kenny Goins would be. The pass sailed past his intended target and into the hands of a Louisville defender and a diving Goins was whistled for a foul.

Louisville would tie the game and send it to overtime, but the Spartans had another crack at it. In overtime, a missed layup by Xavier Tillman which would have put them up by three, was the difference late. Michigan State gave up a three on the other end and Louisville just tacked on to their two-point lead.

It was a winnable game and completely avoidable loss, but the Spartans will take this as a learning experience.

How did the Spartans grade out in the loss?

Bench: B

Despite the ugliness in the loss and the poor play of Foster Loyer in his first minutes in crunch time, the bench players who were given extended minutes — Xavier Tillman and Aaron Henry — played relatively well.

Gabe Brown, too, came off the bench to hit a couple of big threes, including one late in overtime to pull the Spartans within one point. If he can continue to make shots like that and contribute off the bench, Tom Izzo will have no choice but to play him 5-10 minutes per game, throughout the regular season.

Tillman led the way with 11 points and 13 rebounds, but his missed layup in overtime was a killer. Still, he had a great game and that’s exactly what he needed after a rough stretch in the past 2-3 contests. Henry’s offense, on the other hand, wasn’t quite there, but his rebounding saved the day, at the time, on multiple occasions. He had two points and five big boards.

Unfortunately for Loyer, he will be knocked for his play, but you can’t really blame the kid as he’s just seven games into his career and he truly wasn’t ready to take over on the road against Louisville in overtime, but Cassius Winston’s foul trouble and Matt McQuaid’s injury forced Izzo’s hand. He had two points and two assists, but three fouls, a turnover and a big missed free throw.

Marcus Bingham Jr. and Thomas Kithier combined to play just three minutes.