Izzo thinks MSU will bounce back, starting at Rutgers
Joe Rexrode, Michigan.com
EAST LANSING – Fluffy white distraction behind them, maize distraction lurking, the Michigan State Spartans have to focus on Scarlet Knights tonight or risk a damaging setback.
It may not be a must-win, but it's a better-not-lose, this 6 p.m. game for MSU (13-7, 4-3 Big Ten) at Rutgers (10-11, 2-6) that was originally scheduled for 9 p.m. Tuesday. An overhyped blizzard changed that, giving MSU two more days to get ready for this game, and two fewer days to prep for rival Michigan's Sunday visit to the Breslin Center.
Of course, that still means a regular amount of prep time for the battered-yet-improving Wolverines. And Tom Izzo's team clearly needed time to find some answers after four straight uninspiring efforts — losses at Maryland and Nebraska, narrow home wins over Northwestern and Penn State.
Izzo is taking the optimistic approach, tracing troubles on both ends to the fact that "we have just not put the ball in the hole" lately.
"I think this team will bounce back," Izzo said of a team that is projected as an NCAA tournament No. 8 seed in ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi's latest projections, despite the recent downturn. "And we'll see if I'm right or wrong in the weeks to come."
That's not to say Izzo and the Spartans are standing pat. Though he dismissed the idea of using some man-to-man pressure — Izzo last did that regularly in the 2004-05 season — he did say zone defense as a change-up is on the table.
Izzo said MSU actually tried it briefly this season, and MSU senior guard Travis Trice later clarified, saying MSU used a 3-2 zone for the final possession against Penn State.
Trice said the Spartans had worked on it "very little if any" before that game. Izzo drew it up in the time-out and Penn State missed a three on that possession, the game ending in a 66-60 MSU victory. Trice also said there hasn't been an emphasis on the zone in practice but that MSU could use it briefly "if we need it, if we're in foul trouble and we need to hide a guy."
College basketball's emphasis on "freedom of movement" has resulted in more hand-checks called, and MSU has found itself in first-half foul trouble often — leading to poor stretches late in first halves with key players sitting. Along with more zone, Izzo could loosen his policy on sitting players with two fouls.
"We have to change a lot of things if the rules keep changing like they are, we do," Izzo said. "Keeping a kid in there with two fouls, which I haven't done very often in my career, might have to change. But if he gets his third one, then we're really in trouble, because then he's got to play a completely different way. So it's a coin flip, and I guess I don't trust the guys I'm flipping against, if you can read between the lines."
Though Rutgers has the worst overall record in the Big Ten and is a half-game out of last place, the Scarlet Knights have a problem for a team that struggles to contain dribble penetration, and his name is Myles Mack. The slippery 5-foot-10 senior guard leads Rutgers with 14.4 points per game and joins with 6-9 senior forward Kadeem Jack (13.1 points per game) to make up what Izzo called "the Mack and Jack show."
"He's his own kind of player," Trice said of Mack, a frequent combatant during their AAU days. "Leave him open and you might as well count it. And he's a one-man (fast) break."
Rutgers is missing freshman guard Mike Williams (ankle) and just lost by 28 at Penn State. But the Scarlet Knights also have a win over Wisconsin this season. They're good enough to warrant MSU's full attention — which is true of just about any team at this point.
"I think all the stuff that's happened this week has caused us to lock in and focus in more," Trice said. "We're in a spot where we can't overlook anyone."