5 Observations: Michigan State's offensive woes continue in loss to Duke
After opening the season at No. 4 in the country, No. 18 Michigan State men's basketball has lost two of its first three games with a 74-65 loss to No. 9 Duke on Tuesday night.
The Spartans struggled offensively throughout the night, continuing a frustrating start of the year on that end of the floor. Michigan State shot just 41% from the floor, and 6-for-19 from 3-point range with 13 turnovers on the night. The Blue Devils weren't much better at 45% from the floor and 6-for-22 from deep with 13 turnovers of their own.
Here are five observations from another disappointing night for the Spartans...
1.) The starting lineup has to change
Michigan State's starting lineup doesn't play well together, particularly on the offensive end. There's not enough floor spacing with both Mady Sissoko and Malik Hall on the floor together. Hall did shoot 2-for-4 from 3-point range tonight, but opposing defenses don't feel they have to respect the senior from outside. That clogs up the middle and makes it hard for A.J. Hoggard, Jaden Akins and Tyson Walker to attack the basket and create for themselves and others.
The problem is, I don't know which guy on Michigan State's bench can help space the floor. Maliq Carr is a super athlete, and he was strong defensively tonight with three blocks and a steal, but the freshman is not a shooter. Maybe Xavier Booker can be that guy, but I don't think the freshman is ready physically to take on that role. This is where the Spartans really miss Joey Hauser and his 47% three-point shooting from a season ago.
If you're looking for a solution, I like the idea of Izzo going small with a starting lineup of Hoggard, Walker, Akins, Carr and Hall. That would allow Hall to operate alone in the post with his back to the basket, which is a strength of his. The senior was actually pretty solid tonight despite a tough start, finishing with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
If MSU doesn't go small, I preferred Carson Cooper over Sissoko as the starting center. While Cooper doesn't help MSU spread the floor, he's equal to or better than Sissoko defensively most nights and he's the superior rebounder. Cooper had a strong night defensively against the Blue Devils, but he does need to improve at the offensive end. That being said, Sissoko isn't giving the Spartans a whole lot offensively either.
2.) MSU's lack of shooting is alarming
We touched on this above, but Michigan State is now 8-for-50 (16%) from three-point range through three games this season. The worst part is, the Spartans have gotten a ton of good looks from outside, particularly tonight — they just haven't been falling. Right now, Walker is the only guy who you can trust to knock down outside jumpers on a consistent basis. He led MSU with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting tonight, going 3-for-5 from deep.
Michigan State needs more out of Akins. The junior has been outstanding as a rebounding guard so far this year, but he needs to find his shooting stroke soon. Akins is 1-for-10 from three to start the year. Meanwhile, Hoggard has never been a reliable distance shooter, but he's struggling from just about everywhere right now. The senior is 5-for-26 from the floor through three games.
That trio of guards was billed as arguably the nation's best backcourt this offseason, but thus far only Walker has lied up to the billing. Akins was okay tonight, finishing with 11 points and eight rebounds, but MSU needs to figure out a way to get Hoggard going.
3.) A faster pace-of-play is a must for MSU
One of the more bizarre things we've seen early from this group is the lack of fastbreak points. This Michigan State squad is built to get out on the break with athletes like Akins and Carr, a distributor like Hoggard and a guy who can do a little bit of everything in Walker. Even the Spartans' bigs are athletic and can get up and down the floor pretty well, yet we haven't seen this team get out and run the way one would expect from an Izzo squad.
Tonight, there's no doubt Michigan State was at its best when it was in transition, but they didn't do it enough, finishing with 11 fastbreak points. The Spartans' halfcourt offense needs a lot of work, and will have to be adjusted and fixed for this team to compete for anything this season. While those adjustments and tweaks are being made, MSU needs to rely on its transition offense to get more easy baskets and looks from distance.
4.) MSU defense remains stout
This game could have easily gotten away from the Spartans with how much they struggled offensively, but their defensive prowess remains high. Michigan State gave Duke all kinds of trouble on that end of the floor tonight, with particularly strong efforts from Carr and Cooper.
While Akins and Hoggard have struggled offensively, they remain very solid on-ball defenders and, pound-for-pound, Walker might be the best of the trio. Off the bench, Holloman is a tough defender as well, and Fears has the physical tools to improve and be good on that end as well. That all this depth, Michigan State should implement more full to three-quarter court ball pressure to disrupt opposing offenses. It could help the Spartans force more turnovers and ignite that fastbreak offense we talked about above.
As a final note, while Carr still makes mistakes at both ends, but his athleticism makes up for a lot of those shortcomings. As the freshman continues to learn and starts getting himself in the right spots, he's going to take off in a big way.
5.) Will Gerhig Normand's redshirt stick?
On Monday, Izzo said Michigan State was planning on redshirting freshman Gehrig Normand this season, though the head coach said that move wasn't etched in stone. This doesn't come as a huge shock, as MSU has a lot of depth and Normand probably had the furthest to go of all the freshman to be ready for the physical grind of collegiate basketball.
With that said, Izzo also noted that Normand has been shooting the ball well in practice, and Michigan State could desperately use some of that. It's a complex situation though. If Normand struggles to defend and/or rebound at this level, that would counteract a lot of what he could bring at the offensive end. We don't know for sure that's why Normand isn't playing right now, but Izzo did say the freshman needs to get stronger. We'll see how Michigan State handles Normand as the season goes on, but if the freshman can come in and be a spark plug offensively, maybe it's worth burning the redshirt.
For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @SpartanNationPodcast
- Follow us on Facebook: @SpartanNation
- Follow us on Twitter: @mlounsberry_SI | @a3danm
