Detroit Free Press
Tom Izzo blames himself for the Michigan State vs. Iowa
Tom Izzo called Michigan State basketball’s 88-58 loss to No. 16 Iowa “a total collapse” he did not see coming and blamed himself.
Michigan state
EAST LANSING – Rocket Watts did not return to the Michigan state basketball sidelines in the second half of Saturday’s 88-58 hit loss against No. 16 Iowa.
A spokesperson for the team said the second shooting was left for “health and safety measures.” Coach Tom Izzo said after the game that Watts was “a little sick” with stomach problems, but had recorded negative results for COVID-19 with his rapid antigen test the morning of the game.
Izzo said Watts should do a PCR smear after leaving Breslin Center, with results expected by Sunday.
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“It’s just another situation we’ll be dealing with,” said Izzo.
Izzo said the team’s medical staff treated Watts in the same way they did when Thomas Kithier felt ill during the Spartans’ game against Nebraska last Saturday. The Kithier’s PCR test for COVID-19 was negative and he didn’t miss a game.
Watts checked out of the game with 2:07 remaining in the first half after playing 10 minutes and 22 seconds in a row. He scored three points on 1 of 5 shootings, 1 of 3 from behind the 3-point arc, and added two rebounds and two assists.
“He got really sick at half time,” Izzo said. And so they did the same as they did with Kithier, rushing him away. And he will go through the entire protocol. … It could also be the flu or something. We’ll probably find out tomorrow, but we’ll have to keep him out for a few more days, whatever protocol. “
Henry sits down
Izzo put a healthy Aaron Henry on the bench for just under eight minutes of the first half. His reason for dropping his junior captain?
“It’s just kind of the way it worked,” said Izzo. “I think Aaron, the energy might not have been there.”
Henry came in again and scored six times in a row for the Spartans in the final 4:15 before halftime. He threw down an angry tomahawk dunk after driving to the basket on his first offensive possession, then put his own miss back and made two free throws.
Still, MSU was 46-27 behind during the break. The Spartans scored 17-8 when Henry checked out at 12:29 PM and returned with 4:31 left in the half.
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Izzo said he and his staff thought Henry might be “a little tired.”
“We’ll let that happen sometimes,” said Izzo. “And I thought at the end of that half, when he went back in, and at the beginning of the second half, there was a different energy level.”
Henry ended up scoring 5 of 11 shots for 13 points – 11 of which came after his extended half-time, adding four rebounds and two assists for 22 minutes against the Hawkeyes. The 6-foot-6 swingman had 24 points in the first meeting Feb. 2, an 84-78 victory in Iowa.
Something’s wrong
The Spartans’ shooting battle (22-for-62, 35.5% of the field) continued against the Hawkeyes.
MSU shot 6 of the 21 from a 3-point range, with Gabe Brown hitting two and Joey Hauser one when the Spartans made their last three tries in the final 4:52.
It was the fourth time in the Spartans’ last seven games to shoot worse than 40% and the sixth time with less than 30% of the 3-point tries in that range. They are 40 of 145 (27.6%) behind the arch by losing five of their last seven games.
MSU went 12th in the Big Ten on Saturday in both field goal percentage and 3-point shooting percentage in conference play.
“Everyone slumps a little bit when you get kicked in the butt,” said Izzo.
Please contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolariLearn more about the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.