MSU basketball: Video analysis of the Spartans’ 77-69 loss to Kansas
Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch and Detroit Free Press beat writer Chris Solari break down MSU’s loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic.
EAST LANSING — Tuesday’s loss to No. 1 Kansas continued to mystify Tom Izzo two days later.
Not because of Michigan State basketball’s abysmal shooting performance in Atlanta, or even the struggles from 3-point range through the first three games of the season. How much better the Spartans shot during Thursday’s practice left the Hall of Fame coach equally as baffled as Tuesday’s barrage of bricks against the Jayhawks.
“We made 11 (3-pointers) in a row today,” Izzo said, wincing and grimacing slightly, as he reflected moments after the workout wrapped up. “Now, that is frustrating.”
Yet Izzo knows he and his players must move on from the 3-for-24 performance on 3s in a 77-69 loss to Kansas in the Champions Classic. The developing Spartans showed promising signs, even despite an unfavorable outcome, against one of the nation’s elite teams.
“When we got back, everybody was kind of really excited, because we still can build on that,” said freshman guard Jase Richardson, who had eight points and made his only 3-point attempt against the Jayhawks. “I mean, a seven-point loss to the No. 1 team in the country, and we still didn’t shoot it that great. There’s a lot to work on from that, but I feel like this team could be really special going down the line. …
“I just feel like in that game, we were getting open looks and play-making. I felt like our defense was actually really solid in that game. We got stops when we needed to. We cut down the lead a lot of times and just couldn’t finish.”
The competition returns to a more early season level Saturday, when MSU (2-1) hosts Bowling Green at Breslin Center (6 p.m., BTN). But one thing is plainly evident: The Spartans want to start shooting better from 3-point range. And fast.
“I definitely believe it’s just keep the confidence level,” Richardson said. “That game wasn’t our best for shooting. I know we shot a lot better (in) today’s practice, we shot really well from 3. I just felt like the game wasn’t really representative of us from the 3.”
Izzo half-jokingly noted that MSU, which is making a paltry 20% from deep (12-for-60) is off to a better start from 3-point range than last season through three games. A year ago, the Spartans made just 16% (8-for-50), including a 1-for-20 start to the season in a shocking opening-night loss to James Madison and a 1-for-11 followup against Southern Indiana. They made 38% from behind the line over the final 32 games to finish at 36.3% for the season, which ranked 51st out of 351 Division I teams and third-best in the Big Ten.
In the first two games of 2022-23, MSU made 30.6% (19-for-62) of its 3-point tries, but that included a 3-for-16 performance outside on an aircraft carrier in a loss to Gonzaga and a 7-for-19 showing in a double-overtime win over Kentucky at Madison Square Garden, the Spartans’ last Champions Classic victory. That group would make 40.2% from deep over its next 31 games to finish third in the nation with a Big Ten-best 39.3% 3-point percentage.
That history, coupled with some other key areas in which MSU showed improvement, is a big reason Izzo is not panicking about the outside shots not falling yet.
“Mental toughness is a big key in this day and age,” Izzo said. “I think those guys, they know I want them to shoot it, they just got to go shoot it. … I mean, if you look at what we did well, we got 69 shots against a pretty good team. That’s a lot. And to still have 21 free throws, that’s important. We’re getting 20 3s or more, and that’s important. Now, you gotta make them. But we’ll make them.”
Reunion time
Former Izzo starter Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn is in his second season as an assistant coach at Bowling Green under head coach Todd Simon, who is from Fowler. Nairn helped guide MSU to the 2015 Final Four as a freshman and played 137 games at MSU from 2014-18, averaging 2.5 points and 3 assists per game. The native of Nassau, Bahamas, was one of just six three-time captains in program history.
“It’ll be hard to go against Tum, because Tum’s like a son to me,” Izzo said. “I have a great appreciation for his journey. You look at his journey, where he came from, how he got here, what he did — great appreciation, great respect for his journey.”
Duke ahead?
Izzo, on his Thursday-night radio show, teased the possibility of MSU hosting Duke next season as part of a home-and-home series at Breslin and Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. In the past, the two teams have frequently met in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in late November or early December, but that ESPN-created event was canceled after the 2022 games when the Big Ten excluded the network in its newest TV contract.
“I’m trying my hardest — I think Duke’s coming next year — to get good games here, because I think it’s unfair for you (fans),” Izzo said. “Everybody wants to play at these neutral sites, and I’m not really as big a fan of that. I personally like going into somebody else’s backyard (to) learn what it’s like to play in front of hostile crowds. Because if you win one of those games? It’s the greatest, man. There’s nothing more fun than doing that. And if you lose, you can say (guys) played in some of the toughest arenas and held our own.
“I wish we’d get back to home-and-homes in the nonconference, and I’m gonna try to do that the best I can.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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