Big Ten Banter: Michigan State’s Basketball Season Beginning to Feel Like Disappointment
Michigan State is in big trouble. The Spartans, projected as the second-best team in the Big Ten entering the season, are sitting with a 4-5 record and an 0-2 mark in conference play. Unlike so many of coach Tom Izzo’s previous teams, this one doesn’t appear capable of recovering.
Writing a team off just nine games into the college basketball season seems premature. Doing it to a team coached by one of the sport’s iconic figures is borderline idiotic. I’m toeing that line, though, because what I’ve seen hasn’t been pretty.
Much was made of Michigan State returning Tyson Walker, A.J. Hoggard and Mady Sissoko. The addition of a fifth-ranked recruiting class — which included five-star prospect Xavier Booker and four-star talents Coen Carr, Jeremy Fears and Gehrig Normand — was expected to make the Spartans challengers to Purdue in the Big Ten race.
Instead, Izzo and his squad are a game below .500 for the first time since the 2003-04 season. It’s the first time in three years the Spartans have started conference play with an 0-2 record (2020-21). Not an ideal start for a program believed to have Final Four-caliber talent.
Michigan State has played a challenging schedule. That much must be acknowledged. Four of their five losses have come to teams currently ranked in the top-25 (No. 1 Arizona, No. 20 James Madison, No. 21 Duke and No. 23 Wisconsin). The lone outlier was the 77-70 road loss to Nebraska.
The issue isn’t about the quality of opponent, though. In Michigan State’s case, it’s about the disjointed play.
Through nine games, Michigan State is shooting 29.5% from 3-point range (300th nationally) and 68.2% from the free throw line (253rd nationally). Its rebounding margin is even with opponents.
Perhaps more concerning than the shooting woes is the play of the big men, Sissoko and Carson Cooper. Combined, the two are averaging just 7.6 points per game. Despite their poor performance, Izzo has been reluctant to give Booker more time on the floor, averaging less than 11 minutes per contest.
Even Izzo acknowledged the poor performance from his post players in last weekend’s loss to Nebraska.
“The way I feel right now? Nick (Sanders) and Steven (Izzo) are options,” Izzo said about his big men. For the record, neither player stands over 5-foot-10.
Michigan State has leaned heavily on Walker, Hoggard and Malik Hall. Walker is averaging an impressive 20.3 points per game while Hoggard and Hall are adding 10 points each. While that’s a pretty strong triple-threat, it hasn’t been enough to put the Spartans in the win column frequently.
So, where does Michigan State turn? Will that highly touted recruiting class step up at some point? Or will Sissoko and Cooper figure out better ways to contribute? Or is this just a case of “what you see is what you get” with the Spartans this season?
I know it’s only nine games, but I’m losing faith in Izzo’s ability to turn this team around.
If I’m wrong, I’m more than willing to eat crow. If Michigan State suddenly transforms into a Big Ten contender, I’ll re-read this entire story, eyes pried open like the famous scene from A Clockwork Orange. It wouldn’t be fun, but I’d do it.
That’s how much doubt I’m casting on Michigan State. The more we see the Spartans, the more it feels like a team that squeaks into the NCAA Tournament, only to get bounced in the first round.
Expectations were higher for Michigan State this season. Through nine games, it’s safe to say the Spartans are already falling short.