Spartan Avenue
Fansided

Michigan State Basketball: 3 keys to a bounce-back season in 2021-22

By Carter Landis

Jan 8, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talks guard A.J. Hoggard (11) during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 8, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talks guard A.J. Hoggard (11) during the first half against the Purdue Boilermakers at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
Michigan State’s Joey Hauser makes a 3-pointer in front of Michigan’s Franz Wagner during the first half on Sunday, March 7, 2021, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.210307 Msu Um 114a
Michigan State’s Joey Hauser makes a 3-pointer in front of Michigan’s Franz Wagner during the first half on Sunday, March 7, 2021, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.210307 Msu Um 114a /

2. A more consistent Joey Hauser

Joey Hauser started off last year strong but faltered down the stretch for Michigan State, and it cost the Spartans some games.

Hauser was hyped to no end by Tom Izzo last offseason, and for the first half of the year, he looked every part of it. Hauser was knocking down shot after shot and had success getting to the basket. It was after the Wisconsin game on Christmas that his quality of play started to fall off.

In the thick of the Big Ten season, Hauser proved to be a liability for the Spartans. He wasn’t hitting shots at the rate he should have been, and he couldn’t defend a soul. The team was losing games and Hauser wasn’t helping. His poor defense in the tournament game against UCLA was one of the main reasons for the team squandering the lead and eventually losing.

There is good reason for Hauser struggling late, the COVID-19-laden season and him sitting out a year after transferring played a large part in him not finding a rhythm. Now, with a year under his belt and the opportunity to get more comfortable in Izzo’s system, Hauser has a great chance to redeem himself and become the player he was originally supposed to be.

Home/Spartans Basketball