Michigan State Basketball: 3 breakout candidates needed for tourney run

Max Christie is one of the most talented freshmen in recent memory for the Spartans, but his entire year has been plagued by inconsistency. If he scores 10 or more points, the Spartans have only lost once. Change the scoring number to 11, and MSU is undefeated.

That being said, despite him being the second-leading scorer on the team, it rarely seems that way with Christie on the court.

A perfect example of this inconsistency would be the Spartan’s Big Ten Tournament run. Against Maryland, Christie’s free throw shooting wrapped up the game for the Spartans, hitting four crucial freebies in the last minute of play. Two games later, against Purdue, Christie looked lost on the court, air-balling several shots and appearing lost and out of place on most defensive possessions.

At the start of the year, Tom Izzo raved about Christie’s defense while the narrative was his offensive inconsistency, but now the inconsistency has crept into his defense.

In terms of his strengths, Christie shows brilliance in all aspects of the game. He is the second-leading scorer and has the third-best free throw percentage on the team. At points, he shows excellent awareness on defense and makes it hard for the opponent to find an open shot. At the start of the year, it was believed that Christie would be a “one-and-done” for the Spartans, as the NBA scouts raved about his potential.

Christie’s success will directly correlate with the Spartans this March.

If Christie has the momentum and confidence, the Spartans could find themselves in the Final Four. But if he can’t find his shot, MSU Basketball might be home on Saturday.