1. Michigan State’s defense is struggling
Michigan State was, at one time this season, in the top 10 in defensive efficiency and then the month of February came and now the month of March. The Spartans are now ranked 49th in defensive efficiency. They are not playing tight defense. They are not closing out.
One of the reason for this slip is this past month to the end of they have a much harder schedule then the beginning of the season. Michigan State, though, is also just playing lacks defense. With the schedule getting harder it appears players are not trusting in their teammates to make a defensive play.
So many times last night the defense was caught digging on Hunter Dickinson which led to them losing their man and he kicked it out for an open three. This is not the only game in which this has happened. Instead of playing tight man to man straight up defense like they were doing more in the first half of the season they have been sagging off their man to play more of a help zone giving their opponents more space to work with which leads to longer closeouts and an easier shot.
These Spartans need to trust in one another. Trust in they will play tight defense and knock their opponents off their game. Instead, especially against Michigan, they have looked like everyone has to defend everyone on their own. They have been scrambled on defense and trusting in your teammates will help with that.