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Tom Izzo isn’t sure what conclusions can be drawn from the first two months of this college basketball season.
The longtime Michigan State coach guided his team to a 10-2 record before the Christmas break. The Spartans are ranked No. 18 heading into their non-conference home game against Western Michigan in East Lansing on Monday afternoon, but Izzo still has several questions about his team — and everyone else’s, for that matter.
“If you remember the first big press conference in here, I said you probably are not gonna know where you’re at until after Christmas. I still feel that way because I don’t know what comparative scores (do) anymore,” he said. “I’m still too confused on what’s going on out there as far as who’s good and who’s not good. Comparative scores have been very difficult, and the scores have been so up and down.”
What’s indisputable is that before the layoff, the Spartans were heading in the right direction. They enter Monday’s contest on a five-game winning streak.
No one has emerged as a go-to scorer on the team, but it clearly has good balance — seven different players have led the Spartans in scoring this season. Forward Coen Carr came off the bench in Michigan State’s most recent game on Dec. 21 and scored 17 points in an 86-69 victory over Florida Atlantic. He was one of four Spartans in double figures.
Guard Jaden Akins, at 13.3 points per game, is the only Michigan State player averaging double figures in scoring, while seven other players are averaging at least 6.8 points.
“We’re 10-2. Good enough to beat a lot of teams, not great enough to not lose to a lot of teams,” Izzo said. “I think we’ve got to shore up our defense a little bit. … We are shooting the ball a little better. I’m not as concerned with that. We’ve got to defend and rebound. And if we do that, we’ll get our run game going and we’ll be a better team.”
The Broncos (3-8) carry a four-game losing streak into Monday’s game, with their wins this season coming against Division II Davenport, Canisius and Youngstown State. Western Michigan hasn’t played since Dec. 20, when they lost to Valparaiso 76-73.
Western Michigan held a 16-point halftime lead and a 22-point advantage with less than seven minutes remaining, then wound up losing on a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Broncos have received a boost from Chansey Willis Jr., who missed the first eight games of the season due to injury. The 6-foot-2 guard is averaging 17 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists in the three games he’s played.
Western Michigan, coached by former Michigan State assistant Dwayne Stephens, has three other players averaging double figures in scoring and three more averaging at least seven points.
“I feel like we’re all an unselfish group. No one’s really saying, ‘I’ve got to get my 20 shots,’ so it comes from a different person almost every single night,” forward Max Burton said in a recent TV interview. “Every person is going to have a good game here and there.”
–Field Level Media
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