'Something to be proud of': Izzo lauds Michigan State's effort in defeat

Ann Arbor – It was hard to be too critical of Michigan State on Saturday night.

It was clear in the way Tom Izzo talked about the effort his team gave. It was clear in the low, hushed tones the players spoke in, as well.

After all, this was the first time Michigan State had been back on the court for a game since Monday’s mass shooting on campus that took the lives of three students and critically injured five others. It postponed a scheduled home game with Minnesota on Wednesday and left the Spartans wondering what was the right move — to play or not to play.

By the middle of the week, though, the Spartans knew they wanted to play on Saturday, and as Tom Izzo pointed out, for most of the game, his team did everything it could to offer an escape.

“What I asked of them is to give everybody something to be proud of and I thought for most part we did that,” the Michigan State coach said. “We made a couple of mistakes that you don't get to make in big games and we have to live with that. But I asked for 40 minutes of focus and got 38 and feel pretty honored about that. I'm proud of the guys because I don't know how they felt, but I know how I felt.”

It came to the surface before the game as Michigan honored the victims with the Crisler Center glowing in green as the band played the MSU alma mater “Shadows.”

“For me it was pregame seeing all their fans with the green lights on and the moment of silence,” senior Malik Hall said. “It was definitely tough.”

Indeed, it was tough. So, too, was the way the game played out.

In the strict basketball realm, the 84-72 loss to Michigan at Crisler Center was simply another in what is becoming too many games the Spartans have put themselves in position to win only to falter down the stretch, forced to come up with an explanation.

“This was a game that I thought we played good enough to win for a large period of time and didn't,” Izzo said. “So that part will haunt me for the next few days.”

It’s a trend that probably explains why Michigan State (16-10, 8-7 Big Ten) remains mired in a large pack of good but hardly great teams in the Big Ten.

On Saturday, it was a brutal performance on the glass that played a huge role in the late-game collapse, though the fact the Spartans couldn’t hit a big shot in the final minutes played a significant role, too.

As it was, Michigan won the rebounding battle, 38-25, including 14-6 on the offensive glass. It was the offensive rebounds that were critical in Michigan State being unable to put the game away.

With a 46-41 lead just more than five minutes into the second half, Michigan grabbed five offensive rebounds in 11 seconds, the final leading to a Jett Howard bucket and a foul. He completed the three-point play and after a Michigan State turnover, Howard scored again on a jumper to tie the score at 46.

Later, when Michigan State took a 63-57 lead on a Joey Hauser 3-pointer with 8:23 to play, Michigan’s work on the offensive glass helped spark a 10-2 run that swung the momentum. Included in that stretch was an offensive rebound and putback from Tarris Reed Jr. that ended with a foul and a three-point play, tying the score at 63.

And after Michigan State went back in front on a pair of Carson Cooper free throws, Reed scored again on a putback to tie the score. It proved to be the last lead the Spartans would have as the final offensive rebound for the Wolverines turned out to be the dagger.

With the score tied at 72 and two minutes to play, an airball 3-pointer from Joey Baker went out of bounds off Hauser. After Michigan inbounded with the shot clock winding down, Kobe Bufkin hit a 3-pointer from in front of the Michigan bench with 1:54 on the clock.

“Give Michigan credit, give Kobe credit,” Izzo said. “The shot he hit in front of their bench with no time left on the shot clock would go in 1 in 100 times and he made it. So, give him credit.”

On Michigan State’s next possession, Hauser got his shot blocked at the other end and Hunter Dickinson answered with another 3-pointer to put the victory away.

“I feel like it was the rebounding,” Hauser said when asked what went wrong in the final stretch. “We’ve got to cut out. They had a couple of big boards and an and-one putback right after that six-point lead. So, we’ve just got to maintain. It comes down to rebounding and getting stops.”

Michigan State was unable to do that when it mattered most, but it wasn’t the only time the Spartans were unable to pull away.

In the first half with the Spartans up, 33-25, Michigan State turned the ball over, then took two poor shots. Michigan soon had the margin down to two and the opportunity was lost.

“Those things are the difference between winning and losing,” Izzo said. “Those little runs, like when we’re up eight and we made two just terrible plays early in the shot clock, and one was out of a timeout that we had called a certain play and got carried away. We can say it’s OK because it was a guy that played damn good all night, but it's not OK because those runs, especially on the road when the crowd gets into the game and everything, can make the difference in winning and losing.”

While Michigan State was unable to win in Ann Arbor for the first time since 2019, it remains what it’s been all season — a team Izzo believes can make a run but lacks the consistency to do so.

Indiana at home Tuesday is next followed by a trip to Iowa. It’s a critical week, one that won’t be any easier as the Michigan State community continues to navigate its way through grief.

The Spartans will be navigating that while trying to find another gear that can lead to closing games and, perhaps, a run that Izzo is sure they can make.

“We’re gonna get better if we can keep this team healthy and keep together,” Izzo said. “We’re gonna get better before we run out of time.”

mcharboneau@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @mattcharboneau