Michigan State basketball: Pros and Cons in win over SJSU

“Fat and Sassy.” That is how Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo described his program’s overall performance tonight against San Jose State following a 23-point halftime advantage.

“When the head falls off, the body dies.” Izzo stated in his annual press conference postgame. The Spartans coach insisted that he did not do his job at halftime, and took the responsibility for the team’s overall performance tonight, stating, “it might have been good enough for the fans, for the players, and for their mommies and daddies, but not good enough for me.”

The Spartans took their third victory of the season 79-60 against San Jose State, in their first matchup in almost 20 years. Dating back to 2007, MSU beat their fellow Spartans 85-45 with a 12-0 run to begin the game. Tonight’s start? A 16-2 run led by early defensive standouts and confident shots falling through the net.

In every basketball game, there’s good things and there’s bad things. Lets take a quick look at a few of each.

Pro: Confidence was through the roof

It almost seemed like the green and white were using tonight’s opportunity to get their offense going on the season.  In the two games that Michigan State basketball has won, they scored 80, and 69 total points.  Tonight’s final was 79, just one below their season high.

But with the misses, also came some shock.

One of MSU’s key issues is that they do not seem to have a basket-getter. The Spartans lack a go-to guy to go to in a situation where they are down by two with ten seconds left on the clock. Tonight however, at least three players looked like they wanted to be that guy.

It was a surprising feeling to see so many jump shots on an Izzo-coached team. Even though not many of them fell in, with a simple 24% hit-rate from beyond the line, seeing guys shoot their shot was a sign of relief in the program itself.

Pro: Rebounding and Assists

It is no secret that Michigan State will not beat a team just by scoring more points. That is not Tom Izzo’s motto. His Spartans have always believed on defensive intensity and battling for a rebound like a fourth down play on the football field.

After a couple of negative comments on his team’s game tonight, Izzo should be proud to see the 45 total rebounds his players grabbed in the air. Senior forward Jaxon Kohler, an Izzo-proclaimed “man-child” on the boards, took 18 alone.

When Kohler was asked about it postgame, he responded by saying, “I was going for a 20-20 game. But I will just use it for more motivation.”

The green and white also totaled 25 assists on 28 makes as a unit. Like said previously, there has not been a standout bucket-getter yet on this squad. So, with the ball consistently on the move, holes will open up in the defense that the Spartans can take advantage of. Without creation, MSU is forced to rely on systematic execution in their pick-and-roll game to beat other opponents, and that itself played a big role in Michigan State’s victory against Arkansas this past weekend.

Con:  Three-point shooting

You miss every shot you don’t take.

Even with the added boost of confidence however, MSU still missed a lot of three-pointers tonight. Two players scored five out of the six made three-pointers, while four other players shot at least one shot beyond the line but did not make any of them.

With an abysmal stat of 6-of-25 from beyond the arc, the Spartans shot just 24% from downtown.  Green and white teams in the past have thrived without the use of the three-point shot, but this team might not be sufficient enough to do that, as has been the case for the last few seasons.

Certain players rely on the deep ball to get them going. And if they show up cold from deep, the rest of their does not look as good as it could have, especially tonight.

The Main Takeaway

Overall, it is pretty simple. The Spartans continue to look like a beginning of the year team. Every member of this team has sloppy moments, but with time spent in the gym, and with coach Izzo personally, those should iron themselves out eventually. Remember, these guys are on the team for a reason. Izzo chose them over other guys. He sees something in them.

If you really take a look at what this team is, its not a group of guys playing streetball, or a couple of players leading the charge, it is full of players doing their jobs.

Tonight, the “Job Squad” secured their third victory of the season. Izzo and company are now looking forward towards next Tuesday, when the Spartans travel to New York City to play the ninth-ranked Kentucky Wildcats in another early-season showdown, this one being the Champions Classic.