Michigan State basketball: Where was Xavier Booker in second half vs. Iowa?

Once again, Xavier Booker played well in the first half for Michigan State basketball and then was nowhere to be found in the second half.

Michigan State basketball just suffered arguably its worst loss of the season, falling at home to Iowa 78-71. The Spartans looked like they were sleep walking all first half, and they paid the price by falling behind by 12 heading into the half. The second half was much improved, but it was too late to have any meaningful impact on the game.

Even though the first half was horrible, one player stood out and played very well in the opening 20 minutes. That was Xavier Booker.

Xavier Booker’s productive first half

The recent improvement shown by Xavier Booker is no short of amazing. He may have only scored two points, but he was one of the only Spartans who played with even a little energy in the first half. He looked ready to contribute when most of the team looked like they didn’t want to be there.

Booker’s impact on offense has never been the problem, it’s been his lack of defense and rebounding. That part of his game, however, was solid against Iowa, too. He grabbed two big rebounds and defended extremely well. One play in particular stands out to me where he locked an Iowa player down in the post, forced a contested shot and then secured the rebound off the miss. That’s not something we’ve seen from Xavier much this year.

If Booker’s defense, rebounding, and energy were much improved this game, why didn’t Booker even play one minute in the second half?

Where was Xavier Booker?

No I’m not arguing that Booker should become the starter or get the majority of minutes in the post. But Tom Izzo’s refusal to play Booker throughout the entire game is becoming a problem. In Booker’s limited minutes on Tuesday, he was the Spartans’ best big man.

The trio of Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler, and Mady Sissoko combined for just five points and six fouls against Iowa. That’s horrible. I understand all three of those guys playing over Booker if they are playing well, but all three were well below average. So why not give Booker a chance?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Iowa began their dominant first half run when Booker exited the game. Booker’s impact was felt on both ends of the floor, so surely he could’ve slowed Iowa’s run down even a little.

But when Booker gives you quality minutes, and the rest of your bigs are struggling, he needs to play more. Michigan State made a mini comeback in the second half, but it was the center spot that ultimately derailed any chance of a successful comeback. Could it have been different if Booker played in the second half? We’ll never know. But I think it’s time to find out what he can do when he plays an entire game.