| Detroit Free Press
Tom Izzo: The state of Michigan needs more stars, better leadership
After Michigan State basketball’s third consecutive loss, 79-62, in Ohio State, Tom Izzo called on his leaders to improve and his stars to play better.
Courtesy of Michigan State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – When Julius Marble absorbed a hard foul and fell to the ground, Michigan State basketballThe three captains – Aaron Henry, Joshua Langford and Foster Loyer – rushed to help him up.
The sophomore made his free throws, then Henry snatched the ball from CJ Walker in subsequent inbounds and quickly put it down. Five minutes earlier, the Spartans were down twenty minutes, had reduced the game to a nine-point game, and seemed ready to take on Ohio State, No. 15.
Less than twenty seconds later, Henry erased that momentum. His offense on Walker – a near-perfect free-throw shooter – near the mid lane brought Tom Izzo off the bench and barked at his junior leader.
Walker made both. MSU didn’t score another field goal and the Buckeyes sent the Spartans to their third straight defeat, 79-62, on Sunday afternoon at Value City Arena.
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That game brought many of Izzo’s frustrations about why he thinks MSU (8-6, 2-6) is having its worst Big Ten start in the Hall of Fame coach’s 26 seasons.
“I don’t think our leadership was good enough,” said Izzo. “And it is difficult.”
Henry scored 10 points with seven rebounds and three assists, but shot just 2-for-8 and trailed a few times in defense – including getting caught taking a nap on a Justin Ahrens 3-pointer late in the first half. The swingman, who retired from the NBA draft to return for his junior season, also ran into problems in the first half.
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In his last three games, Henry has been shooting 8-for-26, missing all 11 of his three-point tries. (He went 0-for-4 after arc Sunday.)
“He’s really our leader,” Izzo said of Henry, “and he’s struggling.”
But it’s not just Henry.
Langford, a fifth-year senior who was one of five Spartans who tested positive for COVID-19 last month, scored 15 points in a season-high 32 minutes to lead the Spartans, but went off the field only 4 for 15. It was the 6-5 shooting guard’s fourth game with at least 10 points in his last five, but he shoots 21.7% (5-for-23) since returning from his quarantine and shoots and 23.1% (3 -out-13) from 3-point range.
Rocket Watts, who started on point guard Sunday for the first time in a month, continues to languish. The 6-2 sophomore scored just six points on 2-for-9 shots, including a 3-point airball and two missed layups. It was his eighth time in nine games scoring in single figures, averaging just 6.1 points while shooting 26.9% in eight Big Ten games. Watts is just 6-for-27 of the 3-point range in his last nine games.
“My stars need to play better,” said Izzo.
The Spartans revolving door in the center turned even faster against the Buckeyes, with Thomas Kithier, Marcus Bingham Jr. and Julius Marble all got into big trouble. Mady Sissoko’s minutes remain limited after his recent attack on COVID-19.
Defensively, the Spartans struggled to stop EJ Liddell and Justice Sueing, who combined 37 points and 15 rebounds. The two great men took advantage of the physical play and went 16-for-19 on the free-throw line.
“We have to get it done and try to find a way to get some wins. We have to keep our wits about it and focus on the task ahead,” Langford said.
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The Spartans finished 5-for-24 from behind the bow, firing a total of 32.1%, including just seven makes off the field in 28 tries in the second half. They failed to take advantage of Ohio State’s slow start after half time, then went almost 8½ minutes without a basket in one piece, while the Buckeyes came ahead 61-41 with 9:12 to go.
“I think we came up defensively with three or four stops in a row,” said junior forward Joey Hauser of the start of the second half. “I know I had an early turnover, maybe we would have had one too. Those are times when we need to capitalize and make our run, because you know there are going to be runs in a basketball game. But right now it feels like we’re not running that often. “
Still, Izzo tried to keep his focus on the few positives.
Hauser looked more aggressive, scoring 11 points in 5-for-11 shots. The junior forward added five rebounds, although the Spartans were again beaten on the boards, 38-37.
MSU turned the ball over just 10 times after committing a season-worst 21 that led to 33 points in Rutgers ’67 -37 eruption Thursday. However, those 10 giveaways led to Ohio State 14 points on Sunday.
Henry went to the foul line eight times while the Spartans made 23 of the 31 free throws.
Izzo had 14 of his 15 players back at OSU; he missed only underling Gabe Brown, who tested positive late last week. Assistant coach Dane Fife also missed his second game after a positive COVID-19 test.
Izzo especially liked that the Spartans could get open cans. Even if they didn’t fall.
“We’ll just have to keep fighting through it,” he said. “I thought there were a number of things I could get out of this game. If I get pictures like that and we can’t take them, we don’t win games. We take all those photos at the beginning of the year. “
Before this season, Izzo’s worst eight-game record to start Big Ten was 4-4 in six different seasons – most recently in 2016-17, with Langford on the roster, along with Miles Bridges, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward freshmen.
It gets easier from here, both timing and opponent.
MSU took off direct from OSU to No. 7 Iowa for a tip on Tuesday at 7pm. It’s a game originally scheduled for January 14, before being postponed due to MSU’s COVID-19 issues.
Tuesday’s game, in one day of rest, will be the Spartans’ third in six days since their restart.
“We’re moving on, we’re getting ready for Iowa,” Hauser said, “because there’s no time to talk about this.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Learn more about the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.