Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch, Detroit Free Press / LSJ MSU beat writer Chris Solari and Free Press columnist Shawn Windsor dissect the Spartans' 82-72 home loss to the Wolverines and analyze the future of this MSU team. Graham Couch / Lansing State Journal
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch gives his initial thoughts on the Spartans' 82-72 loss Saturday against Michigan at Breslin Center.
1. This game was revealing of Michigan State — and of Michigan
EAST LANSING — You could hear it in the crowd fairly early Saturday — a realization: Michigan was every bit as good as the Spartans. Better, it turned out in the Wolverines’ 82-72 win at Breslin Center.
Any thought that MSU had a rare roster that would run through the Big Ten, especially at home, should be long gone.
The Wolverines have athletes who can create their own shots, plenty of shooters and, unlike previous teams, they’ll get into you defensively. They’ve got the guys to do it. It’s a tough-as-nails team that plays well as a collective.
MSU isn’t right now. And wasn’t Wednesday against Rutgers. Or last Sunday at Ohio State.
The Spartans were exposed by the Wolverines. MSU’s guards, Cassius Winston and Joshua Langford, weren’t quick enough laterally to play up in on Michigan’s guards without consequence.
Forget Moe Wagner for a minute. Everyone struggles to defend that guy. He was the best player on the floor Saturday by a mile. The best competitor, too. That's a tough matchup. Moe Wagner is not why MSU lost.
MORE: No. 4 Michigan State basketball misses its chance vs. Michigan, 82-72
Michigan played with purpose offensively. It was always clear where the Wolverines wanted to go. They had an answer for every MSU run. For MSU, every possession was reason to hold your breath.
Michigan made the Spartans uncomfortable. MSU struggled to create its own shots. Michigan didn’t. The Wolverines’ guards were considerably better Saturday.
We (and I’m including me) saw MSU as the favorite in this game because of long-held expectations for both of these teams. But the athletic talent gap isn’t much. Jaren Jackson might be it. Isaiah Livers is an NBA athlete — a Branden Dawson-style defensive answer to a player like Miles Bridges. Sometimes you have to see teams against each other for that to be revealed. We saw it in plain sight Saturday.
2. Cassius Winston needs to hunt for his shot more often
Cassius Winston took six shots in Saturday’s game. For a guy who can score the basketball like he can — especially from beyond the arc — that’s nowhere near enough. Not in a game where offense came hard for MSU.
It’s easier said than done. Zavier Simpson was terrific defending Winston. He had to work for everything. More Tum Tum Nairn and Winston together might have been an answer, allowing Winston to work off the ball and not defend on the ball so much. There are issues for MSU with that matchup defensively, too.
Winston is a creator on the basketball court. But when they couldn’t get Joshua Langford or Matt McQuaid free, MSU needed him to recognize that and try to create more for himself. He underutilized himself.
3. So, what now for MSU?
The Spartans are still an awesome collection of talent relative to most of college basketball. But they are a clearly flawed team, one that is unquestionably a step behind this Michigan squad and, almost certainly, Purdue.
They won’t be able to fix how they feel about this game until March at the Big Ten tournament in New York City. Maybe they can still win the Big Ten regular season title. The schedule is favorable. But the MSU team we’ve watched the last three games won’t beat Purdue, not with how the Boilermakers are playing these days.
MSU can’t worry about any of that in the near term. The Spartans have to figure out a remedy to defend backcourts like this, to find smoother offense and to take advantage of their advantages. They’ve got to become a tougher, grittier team. Like Michigan.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
(Watch video of the pregame sights and sounds at Breslin Center before Saturday's game.)
The pregame sights and sounds from the Michigan State-Michigan game on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018. Wochit
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