It is all about seeding at this point of the year for a juggernaut basketball team like the Michigan State Spartans. While there was some belief that they could earn a No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA Tournament, this team is likely going to be either a No. 2 or a No. 3 seed, depending on how things go for them in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State will begin play on Friday, March 13 as a No. 3 seed.
The Spartans got a triple-bye into the quarterfinals, where they will await one of these three teams. It will either be the No. 6 UCLA Bruins, the No. 11 Minnesota Golden Gophers, or the No. 14 Rutgers Scarlet Knights to start. After that, Michigan State would play whoever comes out of the Nebraska Cornhuskers' quadrant in the semifinals, before potentially taking on Michigan for a third time already.
So what we are going to do today is look at a few key adjustments Michigan State needs to make to go from good to great in the Big Ten Tournament. Again, they only have to win three games over the course of three days to win the conference title bout. Frankly, being on the other side of the bracket from No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Illinois could work out in their favor. Can Michigan State run the table?
For that to potentially happen, these three key adjustments will have to be made by Izzo right away.
3. Tom Izzo must once and for all prove that this month belongs to him
January, February, Izzo, April, etc. Nobody has been more synonymous with good things happening to them in March than Izzo himself. While he only has one national championship victory on his resume, Izzo has developed quite the reputation over the years of taking lesser Michigan State teams on deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. This sense of confidence is forged in the Big Ten Tournament.
Even if Michigan State will have to upset a team or two to win the Big Ten Tournament, this is not untrodden territory for Izzo or his Spartans. Yes, there are other high-quality head coaches scattered across the conference, but Izzo has seen everything. All he has to do is get his team to rally for three straight days to come out of the Big Ten Tournament victorious to earn the automatic qualifier berth.
To put is as simply as possible, Izzo has a reputation to uphold during the third month of the year...
2. Jeremy Fears Jr. must be more locked in mentally the rest of the way
There is no way around it. If Michigan State wants to cut down any nets this postseason, its best and most important player needs to be more locked in. Jeremy Fears Jr. has already been in hot water over a pair of questionable decisions he made on the floor. In the Rutgers win that was too close for comfort, he got hit with a technical for taunting by pointing at the scoreboard above. It was so costly.
And just last game, Fears was in hot water for kicking Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau in the groin. He was assessed yet another technical foul. As the old adage goes, you are never the best version of yourself when you are angry. If Michigan State wants any hope of running the gauntlet, Big Ten, NCAA, or whatever, Fears has to have his composure. Otherwise, it could lead to a premature exit...
Fears' attitude is not a bottleneck, but it could galvanize the rest of the team to play above their skis.
1. Michigan State needs to force the issue and get some more turnovers
As the season winds down, Michigan State's biggest Achilles heel could come back to haunt them. While it may not matter vs. lesser teams, everybody is playing for something bigger than themselves now. Michigan State may prefer to play great on-ball defense to force the opposition to put up bad shots before collecting the rebound. However, this team is putrid at forcing turnovers on defense...
On the season, Michigan State is averaging just 5.2 steals per game. They are turning the ball over 6.4 times per game, creating a 1.2 turnover deficit. Michigan State ranks 333rd in the country in forcing turnovers. The fact that they are so good at getting buckets in transition makes this even more frustrating. Michigan State has to find ways to steal a possession or two vs. the best Big Ten teams.
The margin between victory and defeat can be as simple as forcing a turnover or two more per game.