Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from horrendous loss vs. Indiana

3. Nick Ward is in his own head

What’s going on with Nick Ward? The junior big man struggled at Purdue, scoring just nine points on 4-of-10 shooting and was held scoreless two games earlier against Maryland, shooting 0-for-3.

Against Indiana, he should have had a distinct advantage against the Hoosiers’ bigs as Juwan Morgan went down with an injury near the end of the first half, giving Ward a clear path to dominate the post. He didn’t.

Instead, he went 5-for-12 from the floor, drawing the rage from Tom Izzo at halftime who said that Ward needs to get down in the post where he belongs and stop taking “goofy” shots. He struggled all game long and shot under 50 percent which is not ideal for a guy who typically doesn’t shoot the ball from outside of 5-7 feet.

On top of that, he was 1-for-9 from the free throw line which had been an area of improvement all season long. He couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn if he tried and it looked to be a mental thing, especially at the line.

Over the last four games, Ward has 41 points and is only 16-of-35 from the floor. He hasn’t been effective against the double-teams like he was earlier in conference play and has struggled to establish deep position. His mojo seems to have escaped and he’s in his own head.

If Michigan State is going to have any success down the stretch, they need to get Ward going and get his confidence back.