Michigan State Basketball: What went wrong in ugly loss to Northwestern?

Michigan State basketball’s nine-game winning streak was snapped on Saturday afternoon as it lost to a struggling Northwestern team. What went wrong?

Sometimes you just have to rip off the band-aid and talk about an ugly loss, whether you like it or not. Michigan State basketball fans had more of a “let’s try to forget this ever happened” vibe on Saturday afternoon after losing at home to Northwestern which was down its best player.

With Pete Nance ruled out before the game, this seemed like it would be a cakewalk victory for the Spartans, but it was anything but. Michigan State struggled for 40 minutes and lost.

Nothing about this loss was pretty and there were very few positives to take from this one other than Julius Marble playing one of the best games of his Spartan career.

Other than Marble’s performance, it was pretty much a forgettable game for everyone else.

What went wrong for Michigan State basketball?

Gabe Brown and Max Christie combined to shoot 5-for-18 from the floor which is just a sign that this team isn’t going to win if at least one of those guys plays well. Marcus Bingham Jr. played just 12 minutes and struggled, looking gassed down the stretch and finding himself on the bench as Tom Izzo was trying to teach him a lesson.

Tyson Walker had eight assists and four points, but he struggles to score in the paint because he hasn’t been able to settle down and take good shots on drives.

Malik Hall played fairly well off the bench and AJ Hoggard showed flashes, but his turnover issues continued.

What else went wrong in this 64-62 home loss to Northwestern?

• Izzo’s stubbornness. I have a tough time blaming Joey Hauser for his play in the post because he’s not a natural center. He’s undersized and just not strong enough to bang down in the post with guys like Ryan Young. Izzo was trying to teach Bingham a lesson on effort so he sat his best post defender down the stretch and it cost the Spartans in the final few minutes as Young did whatever he wanted on Hauser.
• Turnovers. Why are we even shocked at this point? Turnovers continue to be an issue for Michigan State and they’re not even forced; they’re just lazy passes and plays. It won’t even be the opponent jumping a passing lane, it’s telegraphing a pass that would have led to an open shot or traveling when catching a pass on the wing or just trying to drive without a plan and getting stuck after picking up the dribble. It’s everything. Michigan State finished with 17 turnovers and they were mostly horrendous.
• Rebounding. This one kind of plays into Izzo’s stubbornness because Bingham and Marble were on the bench down the stretch and Young and the Northwestern guards were crashing the boards and out-toughing the unsuspecting Spartans. They were just flat-out beat on the glass and this is the second straight game of this. This can’t happen against Wisconsin or the Spartans will get run out of the gym. Northwestern had 17 (!!!) offensive rebounds.
• First-half defense. While it was impressive to see Michigan State bounce back in the second half defensively and hold Northwestern to just 26 points, giving up 38 in the first half is just unacceptable. The Wildcats were already down their best player and they average under 70 points per game so allowing 38 in the first 20 minutes is just awful. Too many lazy defensive efforts left guys wide open on the perimeter and guys falling asleep against Northwestern’s quick cuts led to easy baskets. The defense was bad early on.
• Disappearing acts from senior leaders. In the first half, Brown was playing fairly well, but he just disappeared in the second half and that’s a detriment to this team which needed him to provide a spark. He finished just 4-for-10 from the floor with 10 points but he had eight of those in the first half. Bingham, too, also disappeared in the second half, but his was effort-related, per Izzo. This type of disappearing act cannot happen with the senior leaders.
• Body language. This one is more of something I may have noticed but maybe I’m alone here. It seemed like Michigan State’s body language was just troubling. Down a few points late, it just felt like the team wasn’t in the right mindset. There was no energy. Even early on when Northwestern raced out to a big lead, Michigan State just looked defeated. This isn’t something you’re supposed to see from a team that is ranked No. 10 and on a nine-game winning streak. This was a “fat and sassy” loss, as Izzo would say.

The good thing about all of these issues? They’re correctable. They will have a tough week of practice before heading to Madison to face a top-15 Wisconsin team with a chance to redeem themselves.