For Second Straight Game Tom Izzo Coaching Decision Questioned as Spartans Fall 68 to 61 in Wisconsin

For Second Straight Game Tom Izzo Coaching Decision Questioned as Spartans Fall 68 to 61 in Wisconsin Kohl Center Madison, WI Coming into this game the

For Second Straight Game Tom Izzo Coaching Decision Questioned as Spartans Fall 68 to 61 in Wisconsin

Kohl Center

Madison, WI

Coming into this game the Spartans knew they were going to face the Big Ten’s best team and one of the nation’s finest in the Wisconsin Badgers. What you didn’t think was that in a game that would need their best effort of the season, Tom Izzo would make another questionable coaching decision that could have been a major influence on the loss.

The decision not to foul at the end of the Minnesota game was costly in their last outing on Thursday night; you can read about it BY CLICKING HERE. Today it was a decision to bench senior power forward Branden Dawson from the starting lineup and starting Marvin Clark. Dawson didn’t score until the 10:05 point of the second half and the Spartans were flat the moment the ball tipped.

Discombobulated would almost be a better term. It was clear from the start this team was flat. Did the Dawson benching hurt? It certainly didn’t help. The Spartans were down nearly the entire game and 22 at one point. The final score was NOT indicative of the loss.

Izzo was asked if his decision to bench Dawson could have played into a poor performance with his star struggling tonight. “Well I think you all saw the game the other night and there was just, um, I’m gonna coach my team from now on. Not for the media, not for recruiting, not for anything. I’m gonna coach it for what’s right and what’s wrong. And we’re not gonna play at 25-30%. And I thought he did so that was my decision. And I’ll take full responsibility for that.”

He went on to add, “I didn’t think it affected him either way. Look at his stat line. I mean he, you know, it’s hard. And he went through a little thing himself that was tough on him Saturday night, or Friday night. So I that’s been weighing on his mind, too, an illness in the family. But next question.”

He finished on Dawson by saying, “He’s got some things to think about. He’s gonna have to figure out what he’s doing and where he’s going. He’s a hell of a player, he really is. And when his motor’s good, he’s very good. He’s not … he just sometimes makes some poor choices and some poor decisions and sooner or later you gotta grow up.”

Make no mistake that Dawson’s poor performance was not the sole reason MSU lost. However on a night that Izzo needed his best team performance of the season, perhaps benching your best player who has struggled with confidence issues at times wasn’t the best choice. The bigger question is how Izzo fixes this now?

Wisconsin played so well who knows if benching Dawson was the right move. Dawson wouldn’t say it affected him, but the numbers don’t lie and he had four points, two rebounds and three turnovers. Dawson was asked in the locker room what message Izzo was sending or what his goal was in bringing the senior off the bench. He said, “I don’t know. I really don’t know.” That is concerning. If you’re sending a message that your player isn’t getting this late in the year, something has to get fixed.

Izzo was not in a giving mood tonight. When asked about Bryn Forbes scoring 21 points and struggling on D he said, “How can I talk about the other end? He shot the ball really well, did a nice job and really made some shots. I was pleased with that.” Forbes struggles on defense continued tonight as they have this season and he admitted to me in the locker room after the contest that playing defense is a new thing for him and that he was, “learning” that part of the game. It was a fair answer.

While Izzo said of the possibility of some of Thursday’s loss lingering until tonight’s contest, “I think a lot of things lingered from Thursday,” his other senior and Captain Travis Trice didn’t agree. When I asked Trice if he felt that part of Thursday was still holding the Spartans back he said, “It’s hard to say. (Shaking his head) I wouldn’t say that.”

So how does MSU respond? They have two big games left, the next coming Wednesday night at the Breslin Center. Purdue comes to town for an 8PM tip that can be seen on the Big Ten Network.

When Izzo was asked about preparing for the Boilermakers and the big week ahead he said, “Approach it like I approached every other game, no harder or no less. We have a good basketball team and as I told my team last night that was the second game I felt we were blown out. Probably Maryland there and Wisconsin. But other than that every team’s been down to a nail-biter. And again tonight, I mean I don’t know what we ended up from the free throw line … 4 of 9, we made a couple late. We were 2 of 7 at one time and that hurts us a little bit. But we’re good enough to be as good as most teams in this league, but you got to have your three best players play.”

Trice told me that he has called for a player’s only meeting later tonight when the team returns to East Lansing. He said, “At this point it is a must. We have to.”

This we know. I said during the game via social media that there was no doubt the team wasn’t playing well, but they hadn’t quit. Their effort was there. They were trying. I got barraged with comments I won’t dignify from fans who thought I was being a homer. The fact is that I was right. Wisconsin is a great team. Wisconsin is one of the few with a legit shot to stop the mighty Kentucky Wildcats from winning another national title. MSU didn’t play well, but they didn’t quit. Izzo agreed saying that same thing. “We didn’t quit.”

They need to not only continue to not quit, but they need to step up fast. The last two Big Ten games of the season are tough ones and they are back on the NCAA bubble again.

With Dawson not knowing why he was benched and Trice disagreeing about a hangover from the Minnesota game, perhaps the team can do it’s self a favor and get on the same page quick. All of them. From the future Hall of Fame coach to the last player on the bench.

Izzo is a great coach. A sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer. These players are terrific athletes or they wouldn’t be at this program. Neither the staff nor players have performed well in the last two games. What we do know is that the season isn’t over and problems can be fixed, it’s just they are running out of time to fix it.