Michigan State Basketball: What “changes” does Tom Izzo need to make?

Tom Izzo said that he needs to make some changes after Michigan State basketball’s latest disappointing loss at Iowa. What do the changes need to be?

Tuesday night was the worst-case scenario for Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo. He was harping on improved toughness and felt like his team was improving despite a recent slump, but Iowa did whatever it wanted against the Spartans, running them out of the gym, 86-60.

Following the loss, which marked the fifth in six games, Izzo went on a post-game radio show and spoke about him needing to make changes.

It was a straight-to-the-point quote and it opened some eyes because he’s usually blunt, but he doesn’t often say things such as this.

But he’s 100 percent right. He needs to make changes.

With this statement, it begs the question: what changes does he need to make?

The Spartans are reeling right now, sitting at 18-9 after starting the year 14-2. This team has gone just 4-7 in its last 11 games after starting conference play 5-0. That’s not going to cut it when March Madness rolls around. And the issues are glaringly obvious: rebounding, toughness, half-court offense.

But there are also changes Izzo can make to lineups to send a message.

What could he do?

• Cut into Gabe Brown’s minutes until he shows that he wants to lead and be on the court. He disappears far too often and has stopped hunting his own shot. He looks lost out there.
• Give Brown’s cut minutes to Jaden Akins and Pierre Brooks and see them develop. They have both shown plenty of hustle and promise in their limited time. You have to build for next season a little at this point with a Big Ten title out of the question.
• Play Marcus Bingham the minutes he needs. He’s somehow always in Izzo’s dog house and that’s been hurting his playing time. Julius Marble has stepped up, but Bingham is what the Spartans need defensively. His plus-minus is usually crazy good.
• Start Malik Hall. I know, this seems like a moot point because he gets as much — or more — playing time as Joey Hauser but it’s actually more important than people realize. Michigan State has been getting off to slow starts and Hauser just disappears early in games and doesn’t help provide a spark.
• Play Keon Coleman more. Sure, he’s a football play first so he’s not fully acquainted here, but he plays hard and he is a heck of an athlete. If nothing else, he can be a monster on the glass from the wing.
• Playing Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard together more. This one is pretty obvious. The offense runs much smoother when this happens.

We’ll see what exactly Izzo means when he talks about changes on Saturday against a top-10 Purdue team.