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How Michigan State basketball can make the 2021 NCAA Tournament

By Jack Williams

Nov 28, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; (Left to right) Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) guard Foster Loyer (3) forward Aaron Henry (0) forward Joey Hauser (20) and forward Thomas Kithier (15) talk in a huddle during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2020; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; (Left to right) Michigan State Spartans guard Joshua Langford (1) guard Foster Loyer (3) forward Aaron Henry (0) forward Joey Hauser (20) and forward Thomas Kithier (15) talk in a huddle during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State basketball fans aren’t used to watching their team struggle for a tournament spot. This is how they will make it to the big dance.

I won’t lecture anybody on Tom Izzo’s failures so far this season; we’ve had to struggle through that enough. His unexpected poor coaching this season was a surprise to everybody. If anybody tells you that they predicted that the Spartans would miss the tournament this year, they’re a liar. And not a very good one either.

Even though you could have seen from a mile away that this team would significantly regress from the past couple of years, this kind of drop-off came out of nowhere. But the part that bothers me to the core is that this team has so much potential and we’ve seen almost none of that. What happened to Rocket Watts? Malik Hall? Thomas Kithier?

OK, maybe Kithier never had a very high ceiling, but that was a nice transition into my next point. This team still has the capabilities of reaching the tournament, Izzo just has to swallow his pride and stop giving playing time to players who should not be getting significant minutes at the Big Ten level.

I won’t act like benching Kithier and Foster Loyer would have given MSU a win against teams like Iowa and Ohio State, but the fact that the Spartans now have two straight wins while one of those guys is getting reduced playing time is not a coincidence. Down low, Bingham’s presence has made such a huge difference for Michigan State in place of Kithier. They still don’t have much strength down there, but at least now there’s some length.

At the point guard spot, it’s not such an easy patch up. Loyer is not a good point guard; it doesn’t take a basketball expert to see that. But if not Loyer, who else? To me, you have to have Aaron Henry as the primary ball handler from here on out. Loyer’s failures have come because he can’t shoot consistently and can’t penetrate the defense, both of which Henry has done better to this point in the year. He may not be the ideal point guard, but what other options are left?

But even after all of this is deliberated, what does this team have to do to even be considered for a spot in the tournament?

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