Five Takeaways: Michigan State drops Big Ten opener to Northwestern
In this story:
Michigan State men's basketball welcomed Northwestern to the Breslin Center on Sunday night in the Big Ten opener for both programs.
After leading for the majority of the first half, the Spartans fell behind by a couple possession in the second half of a hotly-contested game and just couldn't get over the hump, falling to the Wildcats by the final score of 70-63.
Here's what stood out from a disappointing opening to Big Ten play for Michigan State:
1.) Defensive lapse, foul trouble hurt Spartans in first half
Michigan State allowed Northwestern to shoot 52 percent from the floor in the first half, and that's just not going to cut it for a Tom Izzo-coached basketball team.
The Spartans poor effort on the defensive end led to too many fouls for MSU through 20 minutes as well, as the Wildcats converted 12-of-14 free throw attempts in the first half.
That foul trouble ended up hurting Michigan State in the second half as well. After two fouls in the opening 20 minutes, starting shooting guard Tyson Walker picked up two more in the first four minutes after halftime, which put him on the bench for the majority of the second frame.
Michigan State picked up its defensive intensity in the second half, limiting Northwestern to just 37 percent after the break, but you often can't get away with only playing one half of good defense in a league like the Big Ten.
2.) Turnovers crop up again for MSU
Relatively speaking, Michigan State has been much better at taking care of the basketball early this season than they had been for the several years prior. However, that old thorn in the Spartans' side returned today, as MSU totaled 13 giveaways against the Wildcats.
Northwestern took advantage of Michigan State's miscues, converting the turnovers into 13 points. While the Spartans took better care of the ball in the second half, they had a couple late turnovers while down two possessions that were killers.
There's reason for optimism that Michigan State has put a larger emphasis at valuing the basketball, but the turnovers hurt MSU tonight.
3.) Mady Sissoko plays well, doesn't get support
Mady Sissoko got off to a strong start and shook off some early foul trouble to make an impact for the Spartans. The junior center was tied for the team lead with 12 points on 3-of-3 shooting, and he went 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Sissoko also added five rebounds and two blocks.
While their big man played his role well tonight, Michigan State didn't get the needed production from other key guys. We noted Walker's foul trouble earlier, and that limited the senior guard to nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Meanwhile, Joey Hauser struggled with his shot tonight and it led to an inefficient 10 points on 3-of-12 shooting. The senior power forward did add eight rebounds and three assists, but this was a disappointing outing for a guy who's played pretty well early this season.
As for Hoggard, he put up strong numbers with 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals, but the junior point guard took some ill-advised shots down the stretch for MSU. Hoggard went 5-of-13 from the floor and 1-of-3 from long range.
The margin of error for the Spartans' squad is thin, and when two guys like Hauser and Walker don't provide the expected production, there aren't many places for Izzo to turn on this roster.
3.) Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper still finding their footing
Building off of that last point, Michigan State just doesn't have much depth right now, particularly in the frontcourt behind Hauser and Sissoko. As a result, Izzo is having to rely in a pair of true freshmen big men in Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper.
Kohler was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, and you can see the polish on his offensive footwork when he catches the ball in the paint, but he's struggling to defend and rebound at the collegiate level. That's somewhat understandable for a freshman, but Michigan State needs him to develop quickly in those areas as the season progresses.
Cooper, meanwhile, isn't as refined of a player as Kohler on the offensive end. He had a pair of dunks tonight off of two dimes from A.J. Hoggard, but he's not a guy who the Spartans are going to throw the ball to on the block and expect to go get a basket.
Kohler and Cooper could be valuable pieces on this roster in time, but they aren't there yet and that could cost the Spartans in the short-term.
5.) Jaden Akins returns to action, but is limited
Jaden Akins made his return to the lineup tonight for Michigan State, but its clear that the sophomore guard is not quite in game shape yet. That's to be expected after Akins missed nine weeks of practice before the season began, and the missed the last four games for MSU.
Akins played 23 minutes tonight, but made a minimal offensive impact with just three points and two assists on 1-of-6 shooting. Akins did contribute defensively with two steals and a blocked shot, but his limited stamina didn't allow Izzo to keep the sophomore out there for long stretches to defend Northwestern's talented backcourt.
Hopefully, Akins will be healthy going forward, because the Spartans need all the depth the can get right now.
Up Next
Michigan State continues Big Ten play on Wednesday when they travel to State College to take on Penn State (6-2) in the Nittany Lions' conference opener.
