Michigan State Basketball: Tom Izzo fumbled Marcus Bingham Jr.’s minutes

Tom Izzo had a decent recipe working for Michigan State basketball on the defensive end of the floor, but he fumbled Marcus Bingham Jr.’s minutes.

From the opening tip on Thursday night, Michigan State looked completely outmatched, out-toughed and outclassed. The Spartans fell behind 15-0 with a shaky performance from the starters and zero post presence on either side of the floor which allowed Rutgers to score in the paint at will.

And then Marcus Bingham Jr. entered the game and the Spartans closed the gap. Michigan State pulled within three later in the first half and the halftime deficit was just six.

It was all manageable and it was because Tom Izzo had a lineup in there with Bingham Jr. in the post that was working. Myles Johnson wasn’t doing whatever he wanted like he did against Thomas Kithier and that led to turnovers and a comeback effort.

How did the Spartans come out in the second half?

Well, Izzo started Kithier to begin the half and the defense down low suffered. Not only that, but the rebounding was a disaster. Rutgers went on an 11-2 run to begin the second half and the game was essentially over at that point because the team just looked defeated and seemed to have given up when the deficit reached 15 points again. There was no comeback left in the tank.

Bingham Jr. was put in the game eventually, but not before it was too late. His presence helped power a first-half comeback, but when he entered the game in the second half, the team was already demoralized and there was nothing he could do.

The junior big man was the brightest spot on the team from Thursday’s loss and he finished with four points, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 19 minutes, but that should have been more like 25-30 minutes and we might even be talking about an MSU win right now. If he had started the second half over Kithier, there’s no saying what could have happened but that should have been the move by Izzo.

Why is this team struggling right now? A combination of things, led by Izzo mismanaging lineups and getting out-coached every other week. This move to start Kithier in the second half after seeing what happened in the first was a head-scratcher.