Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from clutch win over Loyola Chicago

1. Michigan State played poorly and still made a statement

Michigan State had a stretch on Wednesday afternoon in the first half that I honestly considered the worst stretch of Spartan basketball in years. It may have been the most sloppy basketball Michigan State had played in a decade. It was bad.

The Spartans finished the game with 20 turnovers (and that’s after tightening up in the second half) and they had Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham Jr. both in foul trouble.

There was a stretch in the first half in which Michigan State had nine (!!) turnovers in a span of 10 possessions. That’s not going to win you many games. But luckily the defense stepped up and held Loyola to a season-low 61 points and that really saved the win here. The Spartans made some huge stops (like the Bingham block in the final 20 seconds) and found a way to win despite playing poorly.

Good teams can overcome adversity (even if it’s self-inflicted like turnovers) and win games. It doesn’t always have to be a pretty win but beating a quality team like Loyola Chicago after turning the ball over 20 times and not having your top scorer playing in the first half because of foul trouble is a great sign.

Michigan State needed a win like this to gain some confidence.