Michigan State basketball: Malik Hall’s consistency has turned season around

Michigan State basketball has seen its season turn around completely thanks to a surge from senior leader Malik Hall.

Have we ever seen a more consistent Malik Hall throughout his Michigan State basketball career? He has always been someone who can dominate offensively in any game, but his consistency is something that has always been lacking.

That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. As his final season in East Lansing is coming to an end, Hall has turned a corner and is playing the best basketball of his career. His consistency also is one of the reasons MSU has turned their season around as a whole as well.

Malik Hall’s consistency

During the Spartans’ 73-63 win over Michigan on Saturday, Hall finished with 18 points and four rebounds. He didn’t have a perfect game, however, as he was responsible for four turnovers. But we can let that slide as it’s his first game this year with more than two. Those 18 points also more than make up for his turnovers. In years past, we would be ecstatic with Hall scoring that much, and don’t get me wrong, I still am, but it has become the norm with him.

Dating back to MSU’s win over Indiana State in December, Hall has been a completely different player. In the 14 games since then, he has hit double figures 12 times and is averaging 15.6 points per game. He also has had three games scoring at least 20, including his career-high of 29 points against Penn State on Wednesday.

Hall’s turnaround has been a sight to see. This turnaround comes on the heels of a lot of people criticizing his play and demanding more from him, and Hall responded to that criticism in a big way. Malik’s newfound consistency has also led Michigan State to turn its season around.

Michigan State’s improved record

The Spartans have also seen a similar turnaround in their season, which I think they can thank Hall for. MSU was struggling big time and was potentially outside the NCAA Tournament field a month and a half ago. Since then, Michigan State has won eight of its last 10 games and is now comfortably in the NCAA Tournament field.

This improved play on the court, in large part, is thanks to Hall. It’s no coincidence that Hall’s consistency came at the same time as a long winning stretch for the team. This team has always had their alpha scorer in Tyson Walker who has been consistent all season. But they were always lacking that second scoring option who they could rely on each night.

This is where Hall stepped in 14 games ago, and has helped turn the season around. Malik has turned into a “go-to” scorer himself and can now be relied on to carry the team offensively. The win over Penn State is the perfect example. Tyson struggled, scoring only six points, but Hall stepped up and led the team to a victory with his career high 29 points. Earlier this year I didn’t think Hall had that in him, but now I’m confident he can do that in any game.

Can Malik stay consistent for the rest of the season? Michigan State basketball needs him to if it’s going to continue its run into March. But I believe this 14-game stretch is no joke for Hall, and has become the norm for him. So I think Hall will keep this play up, resulting in even more wins for MSU.