Michigan State Basketball Falling Behind, Running out of Time to Fix Mistakes

Will Michigan State turn things around? Time is running out.

No one is used to this.

Michigan State basketball doesn't get beat like that, play like that, or look like that.

After winning three Big Ten regular season titles in a row, MSU is lost, playing without rhythm or a sense of chemistry.

The Spartans resembled a team coming off a three-week layoff due to COVID-19 issues within their program, but many of the same mistakes were on display.

And yet, part of this is on Tom Izzo – his inability to find rotations that mesh well together, his overall lack of feel for who should play and when he should play them.

I'm beginning to question whether this team will turn the corner.

The worst part doesn't involve Michigan State's largest defeat since a 98-63 loss to North Carolina in 2008, its 2-5 conference record, or the NCAA tournament streak.

It's that MSU is running out of time to fix these issues, and Izzo isn't any closer to solving them.

The Spartans don't shoot it particularly well; they lack confidence, a point guard, the ability to create shots, and according to Aaron Henry, effort.

"It's a question of our ticker … it's the attention to details like I said it's the intangible things," Henry told reporters in a videoconference. "It's a question of our heart; are we going to rebound, defend; are we going to run?"

I repeat, no one is used to this.

Michigan State turned it over 21 times (a season-high), with eight coming in the first half, but Izzo refused to make changes.

After MSU clawed their way back, entering the locker room down six points, the longtime Spartan stuck with the same lineup that couldn't make a shot and fell behind 17-4.

As a result, Rutgers opened the second half on an 11-2 run, eventually outscoring Michigan State 41-17 and forcing them into 13 additional giveaways.

So, where do the Spartans go from here? It's hard to tell, but it starts at the top.

"We will correct it," Izzo said. "Our leadership needs to pick up. . "That includes me, too, by the way."

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