Michigan State Basketball: 3 quick thoughts after big win over Louisville
By Nate Rhoades
Michigan State basketball had a battle on its hands when it hosted Louisville on Wednesday night. They overcame some adversity and pulled out a big win.
Michigan State basketball was back home in the Breslin Center to take on the Cardinals of Lousiville in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night.
Entering this game, the Big Ten was up six games to two, and with Michigan State winning, the Big Ten officially avoided a loss in the challenge.
The Spartans started a little slow but eventually got things going five minutes into the game. They struggled to take care of the ball once again but that did not deter them from coming out on top. The Spartans ended the night with 19 turnovers most of them were self-inflicted wounds but they were able to overcome because of a poor shooting performance by Louisville.
What’d we notice in this game against the Cards?
3. Offensive rebounding is starting to become worrisome
Tom Izzo and Michigan State pride themselves on getting big and winning the battle on the glass. Overall, this team is a decent rebounding team. However, when you look at the offensive boards they are surrendering, it’s starting to become worrisome.
This is the third time in their last four games that they have lost the offensive rebounding battle. They lost the battle against Lousiville 10-8, to Baylor 13-10, and to Loyola Chicago 11-7. The reason why this can be an issue is that when the Spartans are not locating a body and boxing out to get the rebound, they allow the offense to maintain possession and get second-chance opportunities.
When this happens, it gives their opponents the ability to get back into the game or it lessens your chances to stay in the game. The offensive rebounds are what led Loyola Chicago to remain in the game throughout even though Michigan State was playing great. In the Baylor game, the offensive rebounds and the second-chance points in the second half were the sole reason why the Bears were able to pull away and beat the Spartans by double digits.
The Spartans have got to do a better job at limiting second-chance opportunities and getting the rebounds for their offense to take over instead of having to defend for another possession.