Michigan State Basketball: Report card for critical win at Florida

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - NOVEMBER 06: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans dribbles the ball against the Kansas Jayhawks during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 03: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes fight for a loose ball against Xavier Tilman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Defense: B

The defense was a bright spot for the Spartans on Saturday afternoon, though it still wasn’t perfect as you could tell the team was gassed in the final minutes.

Michigan State looked like it had a much slower effort on the defensive end in the second half, giving up 32 points, but a number of possessions by the Gators ended with easy buckets. This led to a thrilling finish in a game that shouldn’t have been decided by two possessions.

Each time the Gators drove to the basket late in the game, Michigan State couldn’t get in front of them and slow them down as they finished with relatively uncontested layups and there were even some mismatches such as Xavier Tillman on the Florida point guard.

Florida’s defense seemed to wear the Spartans down on the other end which led to a tired team — but also having just eight players see the court contributed to this fatigue.

Oh yeah, and the offensive rebounds surrendered were unacceptable. The Spartans forced just nine turnovers but stole five passes with three blocks, holding the Gators to just 36 percent shooting from the field and 59 points.

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