Michigan State basketball's sense of urgency raised vs. Ohio State after latest home loss
EAST LANSING — Tom Izzo used the rare additional time between games for Michigan State basketball to force his team to relive its brutal home loss to Iowa.
Start to finish.
Taking a deep dive into the film — win or loss — has been a rarity given the Spartans’ short turnarounds since December and the hyper-speed pace at which the Big Ten season evolves. And Izzo hopes it provides his players with some clarity about what needs work with four games remaining before the postseason begins.
“Practice was good today, because I think they saw what they did wrong,” Izzo said Friday. “We were able to go over it thoroughly. And hopefully they'll adjust.”
Coming off Tuesday night’s 78-71 stumble against the Hawkeyes, MSU (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) hosts Ohio State at 4 p.m. Sunday on CBS. The five days between games is the longest break in a month for the Spartans, who then won’t play again until next Saturday at No. 3 Purdue.
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Couple that with MSU’s spring break next week, and it gives Izzo and his staff a long stretch for self-improvement while preparing to face Zach Edey and the Boilermakers. The Spartans haven’t won in West Lafayette, Indiana, since 2014.
“That's the weird part about our schedule. We haven't had many of those long weeks,” Izzo said. “A lot of people had them early when we were playing them. And then now we get one, but it's spring break. So what are we gonna do all day? Sunbathe? I don't know. ... It's just a different timing. But I think it is critical, because guys need to get better.”
That needs to start against the Buckeyes (15-12, 5-11), who stunned the Boilermakers in Columbus to give interim coach Jake Diebler an incredible first victory after the firing of Chris Holtmann. OSU remained competitive but lost Thursday at Minnesota, 88-79, meaning the Buckeyes will have just two days to prepare to face MSU.
Typically, a previous game is quickly pushed to the past in the heat of the Big Ten battles, particularly with short turnarounds dictated by an uneven television schedule. Any review of what happened usually is limited to breakout clips sandwiched between scouting the next opponent.
But Izzo gave his team a day to rest, then put them in the film room Thursday to process an Iowa loss in which missed layups and free throws proved as costly as defensive lapses that led to easy buckets in the paint for the Hawkeyes.
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“You just kind of can sense the energy that we're playing with and you can better sense what we need to work on,” junior guard Jaden Akins said of rewatching the Iowa game. “Rather in than just clips, I feel like watching the whole game helps a little more.”
The Spartans had built some momentum with three straight wins and eight victories in their previous 10 games going into that Iowa game. That stretch included a home win over No. 12 Illinois and a rivalry sweep of Michigan but also a collapse on the road at Minnesota in a game MSU led by nine early in the second half. Then came Tuesday’s tumble, in which Izzo’s team struggled mightily in the first half and couldn’t complete a comeback after getting within five with 2½ minutes to play.
“I feel like it's been only really a handful of games where we've played to our full potential,” Akins said. “But it's close to the end of the season right now, so we got the time-is-now mentality and just get it done by any means.”
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The Buckeyes arrive led by Bruce Thornton, who averages 16.4 points and 4.3 assists. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound guard scored 20 points at Breslin Center last season after the Spartans held him to nine in the first regular-season meeting, both of which were MSU wins. But Thornton posted 21 as OSU knocked the Spartans out of their only game in the Big Ten tournament.
Fellow sophomore guard Roddy Gayle Jr. posts 13.7 points, while senior forward and Minnesota transfer Jamison Battle averages 14.2 points and 5.1 rebounds a game. Sophomore 6-11 big man Felix Okpara leads OSU with 6.2 rebounds a game and is tied with Edey for second in the league at 2.3 blocked shots per game (61 on the season).
“They got talent,” Izzo said.
After the one titanic tilt on the road next week at Purdue, the Spartans wrap up the regular season by hosting Northwestern on March 6 and traveling to Indiana on March 10. Then comes the Big Ten tournament, which starts March 13 and for the first time is being held in Minneapolis.
Barring a complete collapse, that would lead to what would be Izzo’s record 26th straight NCAA tournament appearance. But how MSU finishes these final few games also will dictate realistic expectations for the postseason.
“The final stretch is always critical. How you play at the end of the year is always critical. Sometimes it's dictated by the schedule, and sometimes it's not,” Izzo said. “In all honestly, we said right now, we gotta get playing better basketball.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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Next up: Buckeyes
Matchup: Michigan State (17-10, 9-7 Big Ten) vs Ohio State (15-12, 5-11).
Tipoff: 4 p.m. Sunday; Breslin Center, East Lansing.
TV/radio: CBS; WJR-AM (760).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball's sense of urgency raised after latest loss
