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Published Mar 1, 2022
THE HOOP FEED: Light at end of tunnel grows dim in loss at Michigan
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Jim Comparoni  •  Spartans Illustrated
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Ann Arbor, Mich. - Michigan used interior dominance from Hunter Dickinson, strong 3-point shooting and dribble drive excellence in the first half to coast past Michigan State, 87-70, Tuesday at Crisler Center.

Michigan State was hoping to build off of Saturday’s encouraging upset victory over Purdue, but the Wolverines didn’t cooperate.

Dickinson scored 33 points (13 of 19 from the field), plus 7-of-9 from the foul line, with all of his free throws coming in the final 7:46. Caleb Houstan added 16 for Michigan.

Gabe Brown led Michigan State with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He was 2-of-5 from 3-point range.

Max Christie added 11 for Michigan State (4-of-9 from the field).

A.J. Hoggard tried to play with a non-COVID illness, and struggled through 11 minutes in the first half. He did not play in the second half.

Hoggard’s defense was a key in the victory over Purdue and he scored 11 points in Michigan State’s 83-67 victory over Michigan on Jan. 19. He didn’t practice on Sunday or Monday, and the Spartans missed having him at full blast for this game.

“We did not guard dribble penetration at all,” said Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo. “Some of it was our ball screen defense. Some of it was we tried to play with A.J., and he has been out since Saturday. We probably shouldn’t have played him, but we tried him a little bit.

“They (Michigan) played better than us. They shot better than us, moved the ball better than us.”

Michigan State fell to 19-10 overall and 10-8 in the Big Ten.

Michigan improved to 16-12 overall and 10-8 in the Big Ten.

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WHAT IT MEANS

MSU’s inconsistency continues. The Spartans haven’t put together two consecutive strong performances since a pair of double digit wins over Northwestern and Nebraska during the first week of January.

“It’s been a storyline,” Izzo said. “I think a lack of leadership. Really disappointed in our juniors and seniors.

“I’m confused how Malik (Hall) plays one way and then he plays another way.

“That was the first time I saw Julius (Marble) play like that; lying on the floor, he doesn’t get up and they hit a three.”

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Hall scored 5 points on 1-of-3 shooting.

Marble had 4 points on 2-of-8 shooting. He and Joey Hauser tied for the team lead with four rebounds. Michigan held a 33-28 edge on the boards.

Tyson Walker tried to pick up the slack, with Hoggard marginalized. Walker scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting. He was 0-for-2 from 3-point range. He had four assists.

“Tyson wore down and got hurt a little with his knee,” Izzo said.

“Not having him (Hoggard) kind of hurt just cause we are nonstop, pushing the ball and I got a little bit tired,” Izzo said. “I had some shots I didn’t take.

“(On defense), we didn’t do what we were practicing the last couple of games. We were taking too many quick shots and we just weren’t guarding.”

Michigan shot 58 percent from the field for the game and 58 percent from 3-point range (7-of-12).

WHERE IT WENT WRONG

Dickinson overpowered MSU’s single-coverage defense all night, while MSU’s decision to put single coverage on him didn’t help the Spartans’ 3-point defense at all. That formula worked well for the Spartans against Purdue, the Big Ten’s leading 3-point shooting team. Michigan State held the Boilermakers to 1-of-9 shooting from 3.

But Michigan began the game 6-of-9 from 3-point range in taking a 55-33 lead early in the second half.

“We were supposed to double down in the post some, after halftime, and we didn’t do it and the better team won today,” Izzo said. “I felt like we didn’t push him (Dickinson) out as far (as the first game). He kept backing us in. He made a lot of shots; at our place he missed some shots.”

Izzo was more bothered by dribble drive defense in the first half, which led to runs to the rim, kickouts for open shots, and offensive rebound lanes for the Wolverines.

“As much as the game was lost there, the game was lost with the penetration and the lack of guarding ball screens,” Izzo said. “I don’t know how you come off a game like Saturday and then come down here (against a) rival …

“The first five minutes, I thought we played well. The ball was moving. We were running our break. Then all the sudden we weren’t doing any of it.”

COMP’S MAIN TAKEAWAY

Hoggard, and the Spartans, seemed to make a defensive breakthrough with the way he moved his feet against Purdue’s superb Jaden Ivey on Saturday. With Hoggard and Walker sharing court time as part of the planned rotational script for the first time last Saturday, that game seemed like the first game of the rest of the year, in some respects.

I was curious to see what the Spartans would look like with Hoggard settling in as the defensive stopper, and Walker becoming an instant offense threat off the bench. But that trend was upended by Hoggard’s sickness. And instead, the whole construct took major steps backward.

How much did Izzo feel Hoggard’s absence upended MSU’s operation?

“It’s hard for me to say until I see the film,” Izzo said. “We definitely missed him defensively. He is probably our best defender. When he played in the first half, he was dying.

“Our guards gave up some stuff on some things on the ball screens where we just did the opposite (of what they were supposed to do). Our guys just looked confused. We were going under some ball screens when that was not at all what we did for three days (in practice).

“I am disappointed by the way we played and yet I don’t know how much A.J. had to do with some of that.”

**

Also, communication is a big part of ball screen defense. If ball screen defensive assignments were busted, then on-court communication was probably poor, too - which gets back to Izzo’s point about lack of leadership.

Can the leadership problem get fixed? That’s highly unlikely this late in the season. Hoggard’s vocal nature, willingness to play defense, and his keen passing ability give him some of the makings of being a leader, but Izzo contends there is very little, if any, leadership from his players at this point.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

* Michigan State began 4 of 6 from the field then went 1 of its next 7. Michigan began the game 9 of 10 from the field and built a 23-11 lead.

* Michigan State took a 11-9 lead on a Hauser 3-pointer. But Michigan held a 32-13 advantage over the next 12 minutes.

* Michigan shot 60.7 percent in the first half, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Meanwhile, Michigan State was 11 of 28 from the field (39 percent) and 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half.

* Michigan State made a little run midway through the second half to cut it to 64-51 with 9:24 left on a Gabe Brown pull-up jumper, a pair of Jaden Akins 3-pointes and Mady Sissoko hook shot in the post. Michigan State made that run with Christie at the point, Tyson Walker resting and Hoggard on the bench for the entire second half with a non-COVID illness.

* Michigan State cut it to 67-55 on a Christie 16-footer off a curl catch-and-shoot with 7:57 left.

* Down by 14 with 3:45 left, Marble missed the front end of a one-and-one causing Tom Izzo to bow his head in frustration on the bench. Michigan State would get no closer.

* Michigan missed only 8 shots in the first 16 minutes (going 16 of 24) and got offensive rebounds on three of those eight misses. Michigan scored six second chance points during that span, capitalizing on all three offensive boards.

ANY BRIGHT SPOTS

Akins was 2-of-3 from the field for 6 points in 16 productive minutes. He provided some energy, but he was guilty of at least one ball screen coverage error.

Mady Sissoko scored 9 points on 3-of-3 shooting in 11 minutes. He played with strong energy and got some flailing shots in the post to fall.

Brown shot well from the perimeter for a second straight game. If Michigan State can revive its defense after Hoggard gets back to good health, maybe the Spartans can try to put together something that resembles the team that beat Purdue on Saturday, on a consistent basis.

THE DIM SPOTS

Marcus Bingham’s playing time sank to 9 minutes. He had two points, scoring a hook shot to cut the lead to 28-20.

But Izzo was bothered by Bingham’s attempt to pick up a loose ball and go with it rather than stopping and owning it. Instead, the ball was knocked away from Bingham and Michigan converted a lay-up, building the lead to 33-22. Bingham didn’t get much playing time after that.





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