5 Takeaways: Michigan State fizzles out in first Big Ten Tournament game
Michigan State entered the Big Ten Tournament as a dark horse pick to take home the conference crown this week in Chicago, but those hopes were immediately dashed in a 68-58 defeat at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Here are five takeaways from a tough afternoon for the Spartans:
1.) Spartans go cold offensively
I was curious to see how six days off would affect Michigan State, and the answer was pretty clear — it cooled off the Spartans significantly.
MSU had shot 51.3% from the floor and 57.6% from 3-point range in their previous four games, but in the first half today the Spartans shot just 9-of-29 from the floor (31%) and 1-of-9 from deep (11%).
Those numbers improved in the second half, but this still looked like the Michigan State team that struggled to score through much of the 2022-23 season. The Spartans finished at 38% from the floor and an ugly 3-for-16 (19%) from the 3-point line.
2.) A.J. Hoggard too little, too late
Michigan State often goes how starting point guard A.J. Hoggard goes, and that was certainly true on a tough afternoon today in Chicago.
The junior was held to __-of-__ from the floor with __ turnovers, and the Spartans' offense seemed out of sorts throughout the day. Midway through the second half, head coach Tom Izzo had a long discussion on the bench with his point guard, but Hoggard did not return his coach's eye contact and looked a little disengaged throughout the talk.
To his credit, the next time the junior entered the game he made a quick impact with seven points. But it was too little, too late at that point. This was a disappointing performance by Michigan State's emotional leader.
3.) Defense improves, but not enough
Ohio State hit some tough shots today — I want to be clear about that. There were multiple possessions in which Michigan State defended pretty well and the Buckeyes just knocked down a contested shot.
With that said, the Spartans still had far too many defensive breakdowns today. That's something that just didn't happen too often through the first three and a half months of the season.
Michigan State had defended the 3-point line particularly well through most of the season, but Ohio State went 10-for-19 from deep and this one and it sank the Spartans.
What makes this performance even more unacceptable is the fact that the Buckeyes were without their leading scorer in freshman Brice Sensabaugh. Michigan State had no answers for OSU point guard Bruce Thornton, who had 21 points, six assists and no turnovers.
Izzo said pre-game that MSU had spent most of the last six days on their defense but, after this outing, it's back to the drawing board.
4.) Joey Hauser wasn't involved enough
Joey Hauser went 8-for-8 from the free throw line on his way to 15 points to lead Michigan State. The senior power forward added six rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
Hauser only attempted five shots all game, and three of those were from beyond the three point line. He was 2-for-2 on post-up shot attempts, knocking down a pair of fadeaway jumpers, but MSU didn't get Hauser enough looks in the post.
Guard play is more important than its ever been in modern day basketball, but Michigan State should have played through Hauser more in this one.
5.) No bench production
Michigan State got nothing from its bench today.
Senior forward Malik Hall played about as poorly as we've ever seen him play, going 0-for-6 from the floor. The Spartans were outscored by 23 points with Hall on the floor, by far the worst plus-minus of any of MSU's players.
Jaxon Kohler played six minutes and went 0-for-2 with a turnover. Pierre Brooks played three minutes and missed the only shot he took. Carson Cooper and Jason Whitens played one minute each.
Michigan State's best bench player was Tre Holloman, who scored four points on 2-for-4 shooting and grabbed a rebound in nine minutes of action.
Up Next
After a disappointing "one-and-done" stop at the Big Ten Tournament, Michigan State's attention turns to Selection Sunday where the Spartans will learn their NCAA Tournament seeding, opponent and location.
