For the third time in the past four games, Michigan State basketball has come out on the wrong end of a fairly lopsided effort. The Spartans were unable to overcome Wisconsin’s flurry of threes, losing 92-71 in Madison to fall to 20-5 on the season.
The past few weeks have been tough on this team, but there’s still time to right the ship. If that doesn’t happen soon, the Spartans could be out early in March.
What’d we learn from Friday night’s disappointing loss?
1. Perimeter defense has been lazy lately
Against Rutgers, it was an issue. Against Michigan, it was an issue. Against Minnesota, it was an issue. Against Illinois, it was an issue. And on Friday night, it was a major issue.
This team’s perimeter defense has struggled a ton lately which is disappointing considering that was one of Michigan State’s strengths all season. The Spartans allowed 35 attempts from 3-point range against Wisconsin, and the Badgers hit 15 of them. They torched Michigan State all night long from deep, and Michigan State’s offense just didn’t have enough to respond.
2. Coen Carr quietly had a really good game
It’s difficult to find positives from a 21-point road loss, but Coen Carr was one of them. He finished with a team-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and he was a near-perfect 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Carr also hit a 3-pointer, going 1-for-2 from deep. It was one of his best offensive games of the season and he showed plenty of growth in all facets.
Carr did all the little things right, and it’s just unfortunate that the rest of the team kind of let him down on Friday night. I won’t call it a wasted effort because it’s going to do wonders for his confidence, but Carr’s big game would’ve been better served in a winning effort (obviously).
3. Offensive struggles might limit this team in March
After losing their third game in four chances, the Spartans fell to 10-4 in conference play which essentially eliminates them from Big Ten title contention. It also drops the Spartans to 20-5 overall after a 19-2 start to the season. This is the year skid, and this one feels a little different.
I’m not here to say that it’s time to panic, but the lack of offense, especially in the half court, is concerning and it could hold Michigan State back in March. We’re already seeing it happen.
Michigan State shot just 24-of-66 from the floor and 8-of-27 from three. There’s just not enough offensive firepower right now, and that’s concerning. Will the team snap out of this slump before it’s too late? That’ll be entirely dependent on how hard they work over the next 2-3 weeks.