MSU is Built to Survive Second-Half Woes

The mentality and energy around this Michigan State basketball team is different.

Jan 12, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) passes the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Michigan State Spartans are winners of nine straight and are playing their best basketball as the Big Ten season ramps up. 

Tom Izzo’s team did not play great basketball in the second half of its 78-68 road victory over the Northwestern Wildcats. Poor shooting and turnovers allowed Northwestern to get back into the game and make it closer than the second-straight Spartan blowout it was on track to be. 

However, MSU did just enough to keep the Wildcats at bay and win its first game at Welsh-Ryan Arena in three seasons. This has been a common theme with this team during its nine-game win streak. 

In previous seasons, if the Spartans would take a large lead early in the game, there was a chance they would lose it and eventually lose the game. They did not have the leadership and winning mentality in the last few years to close out games despite having an excellent scorer in Tyson Walker. 

The team is much more unified this year and has the same goal when the game gets muddy in the second half. There are several players who have a closer mentality, most notably Jeremy Fears Jr. and Jase Richardson. 

MSU looks like a completely different team with Fears running the show this season. He is intelligent with the ball in his hands and knows how to calm things down for the rest of the team when the opposing team makes a run and cuts into the deficit. 

Fears was slicing up the Wildcats’ pick-and-roll defense when he was in the game, making the right reads and finding open players for high-quality shots. That is what allowed the Spartans to take a big lead in the first half. 

When Fears would sit, it was clear the offense was not running as efficiently. When he returned, MSU would push the lead a little bit more. 

Richardson has incredible shot-making talents and plays with immense composure for a 19-year-old. He is never panicked or rushed, always calmly getting to his spot and making a play. Having an advanced freshman like Richardson should go a long way for Izzo in March. 

There are plenty of reasons this MSU team could make a deep NCAA Tournament run, but none more important than the fact that this team does not get rattled. An opposing team could make a run but does not doom the Spartans. 

A killer mentality and the ability to close are things Izzo has missed from his team in the last few years. It’s back.

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