At a point when it seemed like Michigan State should be hitting its stride, the Spartans have suffered multiple losses as big favorites inside the Breslin Center.
There’s no doubt that Michigan State’s February schedule was more on the favorable side, yet the Spartans finished the month 4-3 with back-to-back home losses against Iowa and Ohio State.
Despite the two losses that have the fanbase questioning Tom Izzo, he remains steady with his belief in his team.
“I don’t think that much less of my team,” Izzo said after practice on Wednesday. “I don’t think we can’t accomplish some things. I think you keep digging yourself a hole and you gotta dig your way out of it. If I knew why, I would fix it. We practice not like a team that has given up. We’re looking forward to moving forward.”
The Xavier Booker conundrum
True freshman and former five-star recruit Xavier Booker started his first career game on Sunday against Ohio State in place of Mady Sissoko. Booker played 12 minutes in the first half and he recorded five points, two rebounds and two blocks.
In the second half, Booker saw the floor for a mere five minutes. He started the second half on the court, got subbed out at the 15:10 mark and never returned to the game. While Booker had several defensive lapses, he finished with seven points, three boards, three blocks and the highest plus-minus on the team by a significant margin (+11).
After the Ohio State game Sunday, Izzo stood behind his decision to not play Booker for the remaining 15 minutes of the game, citing that he didn’t think Booker was “as available to do things as some of our veterans.” Izzo also said that it was a coaching decision to keep him out of the game.
Izzo stood behind his words and decision after practice on Wednesday.
“I think Booker did some really good things," Izzo said. "I’m absolutely in love with what he did. I told you then why. We just felt like our veterans down the stretch. We felt like our rebounding we were getting hurt. I appreciate all the armchair people. I really do, including (the media), but there’s a reason. I didn’t forget how to coach, contrary to what most of our (alums) feel right now. I’m gonna do the same thing I always (do). I’ll tell you this. In not one ounce of a night do I worry about how I’ve dealt with Booker.
“I just told him there, when the season’s over, I’m going after him like I never have, and he laughed," Izzo continued. "And he said, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Because you made a couple moves tonight that you wouldn’t have come within 20 feet of going to the basket three weeks ago.' He just wasn’t ready. Now, it’s easy to say, ‘Well, if you play him, he gets ready.’ Well, I’ll be the football guy that I am. Some quarterbacks get better as you play them and some get deep-sixed and never come back because they get ruined because they’re not ready. Am I disappointed on how a couple of our bigs played compared to what I thought from last year? Well of course. Am I disappointed that (Jaxon Kohler) got hurt? I am. But it’s not as easy to make some of the adjustments (as you might) think. One (big man) would be better maybe offensively but not defensively. We’re already not getting to the free-throw line enough.”
Juggling the strengths and weaknesses of the different bigs is something that Izzo has had to deal with all season. Some guys, like Booker, are better scorers while others are better on the defensive end.
“It’s very difficult and some of it is they didn’t play as well as I’d expect,” Izzo said about dealing with the differing strengths and weaknesses of the big men. “And there’s been reasons, injuries, family situations. There’s reasons that the general public has no clue of and I understand that. As far as Book (Booker) … I feel great because I’m interested in Book in the big picture. And the kid has made great progress and he’s making great progress. And I’ve even got to make some decisions now on some things. I gotta make sure that he keeps progressing upward. I mean that’s my choice — coach’s decision.”
On Saturday night, Booker and the rest of Michigan State’s bigs face arguably their toughest challenge of the season when the Spartans travel to Purdue.
“Book has had a couple of great weeks,” Izzo added. “I tell him, ‘You’re going to learn what physicality is.’ ... This is a physical team, it’s not just [Zach] Edey. That’ll be good for Book to see what it’s like. I know one thing, he’s a lot more ready for it now, than he was three weeks ago.”
Previewing Purdue
Purdue center Zach Edey was unanimously the top player in college basketball last season. The 7-foot-4 Toronto native took home all six National Player of the Year Awards.
Edey has continued to improve his game. He is averaging more points and assists per game this season than he averaged last season. Edey also has a higher field goal percentage this season.
It’s not just Edey’s scoring though. He leads the team in rebounding with 11.8 boards per game. His length and wingspan will pose a challenge for the Spartans.
“When you watch him play, those arms are everywhere,” Izzo said about Edey. “They’re like octopus arms. He’s done a great job. I think his motor is better than it was a year ago. Not that it was bad. But he seems so much more aggressive on the offensive end rebounding the ball not necessarily scoring the ball.”
Edey is also excellent at grabbing his own misses and getting second chance points, something that Michigan State’s bigs know could be a problem on Saturday.
“Just try to dislodge him,” Michigan State center Carson Cooper said Wednesday about how to limit Edey’s effectiveness. “Force him to catch it further away from the basket. And then Coach [Izzo] told us earlier, that’s really not the greatest strength of his is just finishing down there. Half of it is him getting his offensive rebounds off that and putting it back up.”
How does Michigan State counter Edey and his size?
That’s a question not a lot of teams have been able to answer this season. That's why Purdue is 25-3 and sits in first place in the Big Ten. Without trying to reveal too much, Izzo said that the effort to defend Edey will be by “committee.”
“We’re gonna bring all of our centers down there, stack them on top of each other and try to defend him,” Izzo joked. “It’ll be by committee. We’ll be sending in guys every three to four minutes. I don’t know if any of you ever wrestled, but when you wrestle, it’s probably more taxing than when you run sprints. That’s what it is. You’re wrestling a bear the whole time. He’s a load. He’s 300 pounds comin' at you. It’ll be definitely by committee. It doesn’t matter who starts. It doesn’t matter who the first sub is … we’ll be rotating different guys on him.”
Edey isn’t the only guy that Michigan State will have to give attention to. Guard Braden Smith is averaging 12.7 points and is shooting 41.6% from 3-point range. Despite him only being exactly 6-feet tall, he is second on the team in rebounding.
“I think he runs that team,” Izzo commented about Smith. “He is a coach on the floor. He runs the team. He knows when to shoot. He knows when to pass. He’s a phenomenal post passer.”
Another name to watch for the Boilermakers is forward Mason Gillis. He has developed his game in the time he’s spent in West Lafayette under head coach Matt Painter.
“He has become a legitimate 3-point shooter now,” Izzo said about Gillis, who is shooting 48% from deep. “You think back four years ago, he was a post man. And give them credit on that.”
Michigan State will have one of its toughest tasks on Saturday inside Mackey Arena. With an NCAA Tournament berth not a guarantee yet, an upset victory would be huge for confidence purposes and the Spartans’ tournament resume.
Saturday’s game will tip off at approximately 8 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX.
