Tom Izzo has Michigan State basketball hot at right time — again

Michigan State basketball is getting hot at the right time, winning five of the last six games. Typical for a Tom Izzo-coached team.

The Michigan State basketball team is nearing the end of their season, and in true Tom Izzo fashion, the Spartans are playing some of their best ball all season. The Spartans still have nine regular-season games left, but the last six have been a huge step in the right direction.

This last stretch of games has been huge both as a team and individually for a lot of players. Are you even surprised that’s the case at this point?

MSU basketball is hitting its stride

As a team, Michigan State is in the midst of its best stretch this season. They are winners of five of their last six games and have firmly taken themselves off the NCAA Tournament bubble.

To be fair, the five wins aren’t against the best opponents in the league. Those five victories are against Rutgers, Minnesota, Maryland twice, and Michigan. Maryland is a solid team, so beating them twice is good, in my opinion. Minnesota also has been a decent team as well, so that is another quality win in my eyes. But you have to beat whoever is on your schedule, and that’s what Michigan State has done.

Then you have the one loss in this stretch to Wisconsin which frankly isn’t a terrible one. No, MSU wasn’t competitive in the game, but losing on the road to the now No. 6 Badgers isn’t such a bad thing.

Tom Izzo has his team winning a lot of games at the right time, but he’s also getting a lot out of his players individually.

Individual player improvements

Many Spartans are also starting to hit their stride. No one more than Malik Hall. He has been on fire recently, becoming the most consistent Spartan over the last seven games. He even was the spark that led to the Spartans pulling away against Maryland on Saturday.

Michigan State’s stars are also playing well recently as well. Tyson Walker had been struggling a little, but he exploded against Maryland with 19 points. AJ Hoggard has played extremely well these last few games, but he wasn’t his normal self on Saturday. However, he still finished with six points, five rebounds, and eight assists against Maryland, so I don’t think we can be too upset about that.

Lastly, Michigan State’s role players are doing extremely well, too. Jaden Akins just had a career-high 23 points against Michigan and Tre Holloman has turned into Mr. Reliable for this team. Jaxon Kohler is showing flashes on the offensive end of the floor and Carson Cooper is coming off an elite defensive performance against Maryland.

Once again, as is the case every year around this time, Tom Izzo has his team hitting its stride. The Spartans have a tough test in front of them as they travel to Minnesota and then play Illinois at home. But if MSU keeps playing the way they have been, I think it comes away with two wins this week.