Tom Izzo has Michigan State basketball playing at a high level, but there needs to be some improvement before Big Ten play resumes in January if the Spartans want to repeat.
The team has been impressive in the post, the rebounding has been top-tier, and Jeremy Fears is playing the best basketball of his career. However, there are still issues that must be corrected.
In my opinion, these are the top three issues that Izzo needs to correct for Big Ten play.
1. Turnovers
Tom Izzo has been searching for answers over the past few games regarding turnovers, and he can’t quite figure out why his team has so many that are unforced.
Michigan State had just five against Duke and probably should’ve won that game, but you can see what happens when you protect the ball — you hang with some of the best teams in the country. Against Penn State, however, Michigan State had 17 and nearly lost a winnable road game. Against Toledo, the Spartans had 15, and versus Oakland, they had 11. They’re cutting them down, but they need to be in the single-digits again.
The Spartans can’t be averaging 12-15 turnovers in Big Ten play if they want to repeat.
2. Keeping the foot on the gas
If there’s been one thing that has driven me crazy about this team over the past couple of weeks that wasn’t an issue to start the year, it’s the fact that the Spartans seemingly take their foot off the gas too early and that allows for teams to hang around.
Michigan State was up five on Duke in the second half with all the momentum, and then they let up and the Blue Devils came back and won. It was up double figures on Penn State in the second half, and then the Nittany Lions stormed back and took a lead before Divine Ugochukwu saved the day. The Spartans then led Toledo by 30 at the half before letting the Rockets chip away and get within 20 in the second half. Lastly, they were up 12 in the second half against Oakland, but they coasted and the Golden Grizzlies got within six.
If Michigan State just kept its foot on the gas in the second half, it would run away with most of its games. This has to be more of a mental thing, but not coasting when up big would be nice.
3. The 2-guard spot
This is the most important issue, in my opinion, that the Spartans face. While improving the 3-point shooting is important, focusing on fixing that two-guard spot is also crucial.
Ugochukwu has been promoted to the starting two, but that means that Denham Wojcik must play more backup point, which makes for a big drop-off on offense — and defense — when he comes in for Fears. No one has truly stepped up consistently at the two, so maybe letting Jordan Scott, Kur Teng, and Trey Fort battle it out to find the best option while moving Ugochukwu back to the backup one and letting him still play a good chunk of minutes at the two would be ideal.
I don’t know what the answer is, but this is a fix that needs to be made — and quickly.
Honorable mention: Breaking the zone
This goes without saying, but teams know how to beat Michigan State, and that’s by running a zone defense. Izzo needs to work on breaking the zone, and if he can do that, the Spartans will be a tough out. The zone has been Izzo’s kryptonite for years, and teams are beginning to notice.