ANN ARBOR – Those hoping for anger, for fire and brimstone from this Michigan State team that’s now lost three straight and is danger of falling out of the Big Ten race aren’t going to get it. At least not publicly.
The often fiery Tom Izzo saw plenty for his team to improve upon after its Saturday loss to Michigan but still struck a positive note near the end of his postgame press conference.
“We’ll get out of it, we really will,” Izzo said of his team’s losing streak. “I’m not trying to convince you of anything but it’s been a year like no other year, too. I’ve been through a lot of things in my 25, 36 years. But there’s been some new things that I’ve been figuring out how to deal with.”
In the visitors locker room at Crisler Center a few minutes later, there was disappointment, to be sure, but little anger or alarm.
“We know these are must-wins, we know what little room we have for error,” Spartans point guard Cassius Winston said. “It’s all about putting it together.”
That’s the tone Michigan State’s taking as it reaches a critical point of its season.
Michigan State has now lost three straight games and five of its last eight. This marks the first time since February 2017 that Michigan State has lost at least five times in an eight-game stretch.
A team that was ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press poll could be unranked on Monday and become only the second team in the last 52 seasons to go from atop the preseason poll to unranked.
A team that had a full game lead in the Big Ten standings from December through mid-January has seen that lead quickly evaporate.
Four weeks before their regular season finale, the now Spartans now sit 1.5 games behind Maryland in the Big Ten standings, with seven games left to make up that deficit.
And if Michigan State wants to end this losing streak, it will have to do it during one of the most difficult portions of its schedule. The Spartans play at No. 20 Illinois on Tuesday, then return home to play the No. 9 Terrapins on Saturday.
After recent losses to Penn State and Wisconsin, the Spartans spoke of not being far away from playing good basketball, of only been a few turnovers or missed layups shy from having multiple more wins.
On Saturday, the Spartans had many of the same issues as they’ve had throughout this three-week slump: they fell behind by double digits in the first half on the road, had a stretch of turning the ball over too often (although they recovered after six early turnovers for a turnover-free second half) and went cold down the stretch after fighting to within one basket in the second half.
Spartans sophomore Aaron Henry said that’s all led to frustration from coaches and players. It reminded him of the Spartans’ three-game skid last year and of what it took to end that streak.
“If we want to win, we’ve got to change,” Spartans sophomore Aaron Henry said.
In a two-loss week, the Spartans went from needing more help for Cassius Winston, when he scored 25 as the only player in double figures in a loss to Penn State, to needed more from their senior star. Winston shot 5-for-18 on Saturday, and Izzo questioned some of his shot selection.
“He’s working his way back in,” Izzo said. “I expect a lot out of him because he’s got a lot go give, but he’s also been through a lot. We’re trying to understand some of the decision-making and help him through it.”
The upside to Michigan State’s situation is that it still controls its own destiny in the Big Ten race. The Spartans have two games left against first-place Maryland and a game apiece against Illinois and Penn State, the other two teams above it in the conference standings. A 7-0 finish would guarantee Michigan State at least a share of its third straight conference title.
But before they can start thinking about the possibility of a Big Ten title, the Spartans have to worry about ending this losing streak.
“We’ve got to find a way to win, that’s what it comes down to, take it one game at a time, can’t look too far ahead,” Winston said. “The next game is Illinois, and we’ve got to do everything we can to go out there and get a win.”
https://www.mlive.com/spartans/2020/02/three-game-skid-places-michigan-state-at-early-crossroads.html
2020-02-09 11:01:00Z
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