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Michigan State Basketball: 5 fixes that could end ugly three-game losing streak

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 02: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans during a game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 02: Cassius Winston #5 of the Michigan State Spartans during a game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half at Breslin Center on February 2, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 27: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans and Grady Eifert #24 of the Purdue Boilermakers battle for the loose ball at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 27: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans and Grady Eifert #24 of the Purdue Boilermakers battle for the loose ball at Mackey Arena on January 27, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

4. Win rebound battles, limit second-chance points

Watching Tuesday night’s loss in Champaign was excruciating, not only because the Spartans would have handled this Illinois team just a couple of weeks ago, but also because there were opportunities to put the game away or make a comeback earlier on, but rebounding, especially on the offensive end, was atrocious.

Michigan State surrendered 12 offensive rebounds to the Illini which led to a number of second-chance points and just gassed the defense. It wasn’t even that Illinois was in the right position, the Spartans would often just be in the wrong spots or fail to box out — or even fight each other for boards. This is usually a point of pride for Tom Izzo-coached teams, but has been a weakness in the past three games.

Against Purdue, the Spartans were out-rebounded 42-33 and allowed 16 offensive rebounds while grabbing just nine of their own. Against Indiana, Michigan State was beaten on the glass 48-40, surrendering an astounding 20 offensive boards. Lastly, Michigan State won the rebound battle vs. Illinois, 30-25, but the Illini had 12 offensive rebounds.

Box out, crash the boards and cancel out the second-chance points and Michigan State should be back to normal. It’s crazy how much damage the lengthy defensive possessions can do to a team.

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