| Detroit Free Press
Tom Izzo: Michigan State needs more stars, better leadership
After Iowa’s third basketball defeat, 79-62 in Ohio, Tom Izzo asked his leaders to improve and his stars to play better.
Thanks to Michigan State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – As Julius Marble commits a felony, he falls to the floor in the state of Michigan basketball‘s three captains – Aaron Henry, Joshua Langford and Foster Loyer – storm to help him up.
The second year made his free throw, when Henry hid the ball from CJ Walker on the ensuing incoming ball and lay down quickly. Under 20 five minutes earlier, the Spartans had knocked it to a nine-point game and were ready for the no. 15 Ohio State to fight.
Not even 20 seconds later, Henry erased the momentum. His offense on Walker – an almost perfect free-shooter – near midfield got Tom Izzo off the bench and barked at his junior leader.
Walker made both. MSU have yet to score a field goal, and the Buckeyes lost to the Spartans Sunday afternoon in the Value City Arena after their third in a row, 79-62.
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This play has crystallized much of Izzo’s frustrations about why he feels MSU (8-6, 2-6) are starting the worst Big Ten in the 26 seasons of the Hall of Fame coach.
“I do not think our leadership was good enough,” Izzo said. “And it’s hard.”
Henry scored 10 points with seven rebounds and three assists, but was only 2-for-8 shooting and had a few rounds on defense – including sleeping on a Justin Ahrens three-pointer late in the first half. . The swingman, who withdrew from the NBA draft to return for his junior season, also had a bad problem in the first half.
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Over his last three games, Henry shoots 8-for-26, missing all 11 of his three-point attempts. (He was 0-for-4 outside the arc on Sunday.)
“He really is our leader,” Izzo said of Henry, “and he struggled.”
However, it’s not just Henry.
Langford, a fifth-year senior who was among five Spartans who tested positive for COVID-19 last month, scored 15 points in a 32-minute season high to lead the Spartans, but is only 4-for-15 from down the field. It was the 6-5 shooting guard’s fourth game with at least 10 points in his last five, but he has shot 21.7% (5 for 23) since returning from his quarantine, shooting and 23.1% (3 for 13). ) of 3-point series.
Rocket Watts, who started at point guard on Sunday for the first time in a month, continues to wane. The 6-2 sophomore scored just six points on 2-for-9 shooting, which included a 3-point ball and two missed lineups. It was his eighth time in nine games that he scored in singles, and he scored only 6.1 points while shooting 26.9% in eight Big Ten games. Watts is just 6-for-27 from his three-point series in his last nine games.
“My stars need to play better,” Izzo said.
The Spartans’ revolving door in the middle turns even faster against the Buckeyes, with Thomas Kithier, Marcus Bingham Jr. and Julius Marble who all get into 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 for 37 points and 15 rebounds. The two big men took advantage of the physical game and led 16-for-19 at the release line.
“We have to pull it together and try to find a way to achieve a victory and just keep our heads up and just stay focused on the task,” Langford said.
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The Spartans finished 5-for-24 from behind the arc, shooting 32.1% overall, including just seven makes off the field in 28 tries in the second half. They fail to capitalize on the quiet start of the state of Ohio after halftime, and then go almost 8½ minutes without a basket in one piece, while the Buckeyes lead 61:41 with 9:12 left.
“I think we stopped defensively by three or four times,” junior forward Joey Hauser said about the start of the second half. ‘I know I had one turnover early on. We may have had a different turnover as well. These are times when we had to capitalize and run, because you know there’s going to be a basketball game. But at the moment, it feels like we are not going on that often. ”
Still, Izzo tried to keep his focus on the few positives.
Hauser looked more aggressive and scored 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting. The junior forward added five setbacks, though the Spartans beat the boards again 38-37.
MSU turned the ball around just ten times after committing a season-worst 21 that led to 33 points in Rutgers’ 67-37 result Thursday. However, those 10 gifts led to 14 points for Ohio State on Sunday.
Henry went to the dirty line eight times when the Spartans made 23 of 31 free throws.
Izzo had 14 of his 15 players at OSU; he just missed junior Gabe Brown, who tested positive late last week. Assistant coach Dane Fife also missed his second game after a positive COVID-19 Test.
Izzo mostly liked that the Spartans could get open looks. Even if they did not fall.
“We’ll just have to keep fighting it,” he said. ‘I did think there were a few things I could take from this game. If I get such shots and we can not make it, we do not win any matches. At the beginning of the year we make all the shots. ”
Prior to this season, Izzo’s worst record of eight games was to play Big Ten, 4-4 in six different seasons – most recently in 2016-’17, with Langford ranked alongside Miles Bridges, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward as freshmen.
It does not get easier from time to time and opponent.
MSU went straight from OSU to No. 7 Iowa on Tuesday for a 19:00 tip. This is a game that was originally planned for January 14th before the postponement due to MSU’s COVID-19 releases.
Tuesday’s game, resting on one day, is the Spartans’ third in six days since their restart.
“We’re going on, we’re getting ready for Iowa,” Hauser said, “because there’s no time to sit down and talk about it.”
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Read more about the Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Spartans newsletter.