Michigan State basketball falls hard Northwestern: 3 quick takes
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1. At Northwestern, MSU shows it’s not as tough and savvy as it showed at home
EVANSTON, Ill. – Michigan State has played some terrific basketball over the past month. Truly turned its season. But if the Spartans want more than a fourth-place Big Ten finish and a 6 or 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, they’ll have to play with more grit, focus and savvy on the road in the Big Ten over the next two months than they did Sunday night at Northwestern.
MSU played a good schedule though the first two months of the season. The Spartans did not play in many tough environments. Just one — at Nebraska, a 77-70 loss, when they had some of the same problems as Sunday night.
I don’t think MSU’s recent spell on its home court (or in Detroit) lied about who MSU can be. But the harshest truths are on the road — where momentum can be a bear, where the crowd cheers your failings, where the opponent’s shooters are most comfortable, where the whistle tends to be less kind, where inconsistencies become weaknesses and weaknesses (like defensive rebounding) become a problem.
The NCAA tournament is played on neutral courts. But the teams that are given good seeds and favorable postseason paths are tough enough to win on the road. And Big Ten championships are won by teams that win at least half of their conference road games.
That said, Purdue lost at Northwestern. Its only loss of the season, albeit in overtime. James Madison, which started the season 14-0, lost its second conference road game, at Southern Miss, ranked No. 233 in Kenpom, because winning on the road in conference play, in any league, is hard. That’s something analytics fail to accurately measure, especially with good teams in smaller leagues.
MSU is a good team in a big league. Northwestern is a capable and seasoned opponent, with a backcourt that can get rolling. You’d better bring more than MSU did if you expect to leave a refurbished Welsh Ryan Arena — now also with a boisterous student section — with a road win.
You can’t have Malik Hall play the game he did — without a point or rebound and being replaced at one point in a critical juncture in the second half by Xavier Booker. Or for Tre Holloman to disappear for a half or so. Or, as a team, to give up eight offensive rebounds in the first half. Or to lose Northwestern’s outside shooters the way the Spartans did. All night, it looked like they were confused how to defend Northwestern’s actions offensively. The Wildcats made nine 3-pointers. It was loud nine. Felt like more.
MSU will lose more Big Ten road games. They’ll probably get blitzed somewhere along the way.
This wasn’t a blitzing, though. This was MSU getting out-toughed and outplayed. This was MSU staring at some harsh truths about what they can also be when aren’t completely dialed in across the board, when their opponent slows them down, and when don’t have their own fans to kick them into gear.
This was a bad night. MSU has to learn from it and make…
Read More: Michigan State basketball falls hard Northwestern: 3 quick takes 2024-01-08 05:35:39