Michigan State basketball has serious potential, but it needs consistency

Michigan State basketball lost its ninth game of the season on Saturday afternoon and this one felt a lot like the previous 4-5 losses.

Outside of the Purdue loss in West Lafayette, the Spartans were in each game and probably should have won each of them. Four of the past five losses have been painful and avoidable and you could even say five of the past six because that Northwestern home loss should have never happened.

The losses started with the Illinois trip in which the Spartans led by nine in the second half before falling apart and losing by nine. Michigan State then had Purdue on the ropes in East Lansing before choking away a four-point lead late, losing by one. Then Michigan State led Indiana by nine on the road but didn’t show up in the second half and then there was Saturday’s game against Rutgers.

Michigan State raced into the locker room with a 25-19 lead after a buzzer-beating layup by Jaden Akins and all the momentum seemed to be on the Spartans’ side. They extended that lead to 31-23 and it just felt like the defense was good enough and the offense was doing just enough to hold off the Scarlet Knights, but once again, the Spartans fell apart late.

A complete 40-minute effort could not be pieced together.

And that’s incredibly frustrating.

Consistency, not talent, plaguing Michigan State basketball

If Michigan State could close on games and hold comfortable leads, it would be 18-5 currently, at least, instead of 14-9. That 18-5 record would include road wins over Illinois and Indiana and a big home win over Purdue. The Spartans would likely be flirting with a top-10 ranking.

Instead, the inability to close strong or piece together a full game has this team fighting for a seed anywhere from the 7-10 line. Heck, the bubble is still in play.

For a team this talented (albeit not deep), that’s unacceptable.

You could even flash all the way back to non-conference play and the loss to Gonzaga which should have been a win if not for a second-half meltdown and subsequent one-point loss.

Michigan State could be 19-4.

But here we are, sitting at 14-9 and 6-6 in conference play. A disappointing record and season, but if the Spartans can string together some consistent play in the next eight games, we could see them finishing with 20-plus wins before the NCAA Tournament and a potential seed line around 5-6. That would be the best-case scenario.

This team has talent. This team can make a run. This team has leadership. It just needs consistency.

It’s about time we see them come together to play their best basketball in the regular season’s final month like all Tom Izzo-coached teams do. If that happens, watch out in March.