5 Observations: Ohio State Stuns Michigan State At The Buzzer
Wow. Michigan State just suffered a shocking and devastating, 60-57 defeat at home against Ohio State.
The Spartans led this one nearly wire-to-wire, building a lead as large as 12 points, 50-38, with 11:05 remaining in the game. However, Michigan State's offense sputtered and died down the stretch, as the Spartans managed to score just __ points in the final 11 minutes. Ohio State took its first lead, 57-56, with 11.5 seconds left in the game on a pair of free throws from Roddy Gayle Jr.
Michigan State's Tyson Walker was fouled on a midrange jumper on the following possession, and he split the free throws to re-tie the game. With just over six seconds left, the Buckeyes got the ball upcourt quickly and into the hands of Dale Bonner, who launched a desperation 3 over the outstretched hand of Walker. The shot hit paydirt, and sent a stunned Breslin Center crowd home with a crushing defeat.
Here's five observations from a stunning conclusion in East Lansing...
1.) Xavier Booker's first career start
After weeks of inconsistent (at best) play from his center spot, head coach Tom Izzo finally turned to five-star freshman Xavier Booker in the starting lineup. The 6-foot-11 stretch big had a strong first stint for the Spartans, with two blocked shots and a forced turnover defensively and a 3-pointer on offense in his first six minutes. Booker got beat a couple times due to overhelping and missed a couple box outs, but those are the growing pains you'll live through.
For the first time in a long time, we also got to see Booker play meaningful minutes in the second half of a game, but not nearly as many as we would have liked. In just five second-half minutes, the freshman added two more points, another block and a rebound. His final stat line: seven points (3-of-6 shooting), three rebounds, three blocks.
There's little doubt Izzo was concerned about Booker's rebounding struggles as the game got tight down the stretch, opting to go with Sissoko instead. We can't entirely blame the head coach for that line of thinking, but Michigan State struggled mightily on offense after halftime as well, so there's give and take either way.
2.) The two-center lineup returns....for some reason
While it was great to see Booker get the start for MSU, the Spartans' first lineup change made zero sense. Booker was gassed and needed to come out, but Izzo elected to go back to the two-center lineup of Mady Sissoko playing alongside Carson Cooper. Making matters worse, Coen Carr subbed into the game at the same time, which further limited the Spartans' ability to stretch the floor. Tre Holloman and Tyson Walker were the only shooters on the floor during that three and a half minutes stretch and, unsurprisingly, Michigan State failed to score a single point with that lineup.
In total, it ended up being a five-minute scoring stretch for the Spartans, and killed all the momentum from a nice start for MSU. I honestly don't know what Izzo and the coaching staff thinks they're getting from the two-big lineup. It severely limited what the Spartans can do offensively, and while I like what Carr brings to this team, he can't be out there at the same time as two non-shooting threats. There were other strange lineups throughout the second half, and those were at least partially responsible for Michigan State's offensive struggles after halftime.
3.) Good defense, poor rebounding for MSU
Michigan State's defense was good throughout the afternoon, but the Spartans had a hard time finishing defensive possessions with a rebound. MSU held the Buckeyes to just 38% from the floor and 3-of-17 from the 3-point line, and forced Ohio State into nine turnovers. However, the Spartans lost the rebounding battle, as Ohio State held a 39-33 edge on the glass. Michigan State also gave up a 13 offensive rebounds, which led to 14 second-chance points for the Buckeyes.
Malik Hall continued his strong play with 15 points and seven rebounds, but once again the fifth-year senior didn't get enough help in the frontcourt. Sissoko had four points and six rebounds tonight, but some of the same blunders plagued the senior. Carson Cooper was a complete non-factor, going without a point or rebound in seven minutes. Jaxon Kohler had a couple nice moments in his 12 minutes, but finished with just two points and three rebounds for the Spartans.
4.) Tyson Walker's struggles impossible to ignore
We've given Tyson Walker the benefit of the doubt amidst his shooting struggles, but it's becoming impossible to ignore the fact that Michigan State's leading-scorer has not been himself over the last four games. Tonight, the senior shot just 5-of-15 from the floor and was 1-of-6 from the 3-point line to finish with 12 points. Walker's year-long struggles at the foul line also came back to bite him tonight, as he missed a crucial free throw that could have given the Spartans the lead before the game-winning 3-pointer.
Over the last four games, Walker is shooting just 37% from the floor and is 6-for-21 (28.6%) from 3-point range. Michigan State was able to overcome the senior's struggles in wins over Penn State and Michigan, but have now lost back-to-back home games to Iowa and Ohio State. The Spartans are back on the NCAA Tournament bubble with three games remaining. Walker needs to get right as the regular season concludes, or Michigan State could find itself missing the Big Dance for the first time in a quarter-century.
5.) Not enough from Akins, Hoggard
In these two last two losses, Jaden Akins was virtually a non-factor and A.J. Hoggard was a difference-maker in only one half out of four. Tonight, Akins scored just four points and went 1-of-9 from the floor, including 0-of-3 from the 3-point line. This comes after the junior had six points on 2-of-7 shooting against Iowa, and seven points on 3-of-10 shooting in the win over Michigan. After playing good basketball in late January and early February, Akins has disappeared again these last two weeks.
Hoggard, meanwhile, has not been an impact player for the Spartans since their win over Illinois back on Feb. 10. He has a good second half against the Hawkeyes, but in the other three halves of these past two games, Hoggard has totaled nine points on 4-of-12 shooting with six assists. Put simply, that's not enough from Michigan State's point guard.
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