5 Observations: Turnovers, poor defense end Michigan State's 5-game win streak
Michigan State men’s basketball’s five-game winning streak is over after an 88-74 defeat at the hands of Northwestern on Sunday night.
After much of the first half was a back-and-forth affair, the Wildcats seized control with a 22-7 surge to put the Spartans down by 15 at the break. Northwestern never never looked back as senior guard Boo Buie terrorized the Spartans yet again with 19 points and 10 assists.
MSU senior Tyson Walker carried the load offensively for the Spartans, scoring 27 points. However, Michigan State did not get enough contributions from the supporting cast and fall to 9-6 overall, 1-3 in Big Ten play and 0-4 in games played outside of the state of Michigan this season. Here are five takeaways from a disappointing showing from MSU…
1.) Northwestern dominates the turnover battle
A tale old as time, Michigan State struggled with turnovers in the first half which led to Northwestern’s big run to close the opening frame. Of the Spartans’ 13 total turnovers, 12 game in the first half and Northwestern scored a whopping 21 points off those MSU miscues.
Michigan State suffered more self-inflicted wounds in the second half, including Walker picking up a technical foul, resulting in two made free throws and the ball for the Wildcats. Northwestern, meanwhile, took care of the basketball all game long and finished with only five turnovers.
It seems Michigan State can’t play a complete game without a scoring drought that’s accompanied by a lot of turnovers. During their five-game win streak, only against Oakland did the Spartans finish with less than 10 turnovers (8). If Michigan State is going to compete for the Big Ten title, which feels far off at this point, they’ll need to fix the turnover issue and their inconsistency on offense.
2.) Malik Hall no shows
After scoring a combined 42 points in the last two games, Malik Hall finished with without a point, rebound, assist, steal or blocked shot in 26 minutes of action. The fifth-year senior went 0-for-4 from the field, and missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the free throw late in the second half.
Hall’s inconsistency isn’t new. He’s struggled with it throughout his career as a Spartan, and this was just the latest example of him turning in a dud of a performance following two games in which he appeared to turn a corner. However, as a fifth-year senior and team captain, there’s no excuse for Hall to come up empty on the stat sheet like he did tonight. His two turnovers were all that showed up on the box score.
The other players at Hall’s position, freshmen Coen Carr and Xavier Booker, are two players head coach Tom Izzo doesn’t seem to fully trust yet. That makes it even more detrimental when the senior no shows like he did tonight in Evanston.
3.) Too many defensive breakdowns
Michigan State has played really well on defense most of this season, especially during the five-game winning streak. But the Spartans slipped heavily in that area in this game. A mixture of the defense breaking down and the Wildcats making tough shots halted the Spartans momentum in the first and second half. Northwestern guard Ty Berry finished with 22 points, catching fire after halftime.
While many of the defensive breakdowns this season have come from MSU’s frontcourt, it was the guards who struggled with Northwestern. Berry and Buie consistently split Michigan State’s double-teams which led to points in the paint and finding wide open shooters in the corner. The Wildcats’ offense was humming throughout the night, as 22 of their 32 made field goals came off an assist. Northwestern shot 52% from the floor, the highest percentage the Spartans have allowed this season, and 39% from 3-point range. It was an uncharacteristic night for Michigan State’s defense and they paid the price.
4.) 3-point shooting improves, free throw woes continue
When the season started, the Spartans struggled to shoot from the 3-point and free throw line, and even struggled to draw fouls. However, during their five-game win streak MSU shot 44% from deep and 73% from the charity stripe. Tonight, Michigan State stayed hot from outside but the foul shooting continues to be an inconsistency.
As a team, the Spartans shot 9-of-19 from deep with their best shooters, Tyson Walker and Jaden Akins, going 4-of-7 and 3-of-6, respectively. However, MSU was hurt by its free throw shooting, going 15-for-22 and missing three front-ends of 1-and-1 foul shot opportunities. Northwestern was in foul trouble early in the game but Michigan State couldn’t capitalize because of their several misses, eventually leading to momentum swinging towards Northwestern.
5.) Jaxon Kohler gets his first minutes of the season
After having foot surgery in October, Jaxon Kohler made his first appearance of the season tonight. It was reported the sophomore returned to practice last Friday and would play only limited minutes in his first game back. Against Northwestern, Kohler played three minutes midway through the second half, and while he did not record a stat in the game the Spartans outscored the Wildcats by a point during his brief stint.
Kohler’s eventual full return is much-needed, as Michigan State is in need of more scoring from their frontcourt players. Tonight was a positive first step towards the sophomore being to fully back, and it comes at the right time with the majority of MSU’s Big Ten schedule remaining and a low-post offensive boost needed. Izzo and the staff are still working towards helping Booker improve against rugged conference big men, while Cooper and Sissoko have their ups and downs offensively. It’s hard to know what Michigan State will get out of Kohler this season, but he’s the most refined offensive center the Spartans have on the roster.
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