A lot of people left the Breslin Center Wednesday night in a good mood, and why wouldn’t they? The #12 Michigan State Spartans never trailed in 40 full minutes of basketball against the visiting Penn State Nittany Lions, staving off a late comeback attempt in a 90-85 win. The win improved the Spartans to 15-2 on the season and kept their record in Big Ten conference play unblemished at 6-0. It’s fair to say that Michigan State, now winners of ten consecutive games, put on a show that left the Spartan faithful happy as they wandered back to their vehicles on a cold Michigan night.
One person who didn’t leave Wednesday night’s victory happy? Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo.
Michigan State Spartans Second Half Struggles
Despite being on a ten-game win streak, despite being undefeated in conference play, and despite their climb up the weekly AP Top 25 polls, one thing has plagued the Michigan State Spartans all season long: they start strong in the first half, but start to crumble in the second. Wednesday night, the Spartans took a 46-36 lead over Penn State into halftime. With only three minutes left to play, that 10-point lead had been cut down to 3.
After a first half that saw the Spartans hold Penn State to 43.3% shooting from the field, the defense faltered after the break, allowing the Nittany Lions to shoot 65.2% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the three-point arc. This shooting blitz from Penn State cut Michigan State’s lead down to as little as 2. The Spartans offense faltered as well, turning the ball over 7 times in the second half. The Spartans’ second-half turnovers led to 8 points for the Nittany Lions.
Speaking to the media after the game, Tom Izzo expressed his disappointment in his team’s defensive efforts in the second half:
“I’m really disappointed in maybe my defensive performance… I thought we were very pedestrian-like… Not many times this year have I been disappointed in our defensive performance but tonight I am. I am very disappointed.”
Wednesday was not the first time the Spartans struggled to hold a lead in the second half. In a January 12 road win against the Northwestern Wildcats, Tom Izzo’s squad allowed their hosts to gradually whittle down the Spartans’ 19-point halftime lead. Izzo harped on how turnovers are playing a part in the team’s inability to hold a lead:
“Ten turnovers was good, but we had three at halftime and we had four or five in a row when we were up 10. That happened at Northwestern. That means we cannot handle success right now.”
It was a similar song and dance in a January 3 matchup with Ohio State. With an 8-point lead at halftime, the Spartans turned the ball over 7 times in the second half, allowing Ohio State to briefly take the lead. Michigan State ultimately beat the Buckeyes 69-62.
Tom Izzo Demands Improvement – From Everyone
During his post-game media availability, Izzo made sure to squash any narratives the media has heaped upon his team:
“Quit saying where we are. We are not anywhere yet. We are a good basketball team that has a long, long, long, long way to go to get better.”
Now in his 30th season as head coach of the Michigan State Spartans, Tom Izzo has been in this situation before. With 26 consecutive NCAA Tournament bids to his name and 8 Final Four appearances, Izzo knows that it takes an entire team effort to truly succeed in college basketball, from the players to the coaches:
“I love my team. I love my guys. Tonight, they did not play as good as they can play, we did not coach as well as we can. We need to do both of those things better in the next three days because we need to get ready for Illinois because they are good.”
Michigan State will hope to right their second-half ship in a high-profile matchup with #19 Illinois (13-4, 5-2 Big Ten) on Sunday, January 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 P.M. eastern standard time and television coverage will be provided by CBS.
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