Michigan State eager to show team growth in second meeting with Wisconsin
Sometimes it’s who you play. And sometimes it’s when you play them. For Michigan State in its Big Ten opener at home against Wisconsin on Dec. 5 both timing and quality of opponent conspired against the Spartans in a 70-57 home loss against the Badgers.
In that match-up, the Wisconsin started fast, quickly building a double-digit leading and maintaining that margin throughout the opening 20 minutes of play. Wisconsin also finished strong, closing the game out on a 21-9 run after Tyson Walker buried a three to pull the Spartans within three points of the Badgers with 12:55 remaining in the second half.
After Walker’s three, the Spartans couldn’t buy a bucket. Michigan State shot 4-for-16 in the final 13 minutes against the Badgers. Two of those four field goals came during the final 90 seconds of the game, as the Spartans went close to 10 minutes without a field goal after coming within a possession of tying the game.
In that first meeting, Michigan State starters Jaden Akins, Carson Cooper, and Mady Sissoko combined for a paltry seven total points. Malik Hall, who did not practice in the lead up to the Big Ten opener due to illness, was a shell of the player he has been during the New Year playing with a 101 degree fever against Wisconsin.
“We are more connected, more mature basketball-wise,” said Hall of where Michigan State is at now in comparison to where it was at in early December when the Spartans and Badgers opened Big Ten play at the Breslin Center. “Smarter decisions, a little more poised. I feel like everyone is playing a little bit better. I feel like everybody is a little bit more comfortable now. We are finally settling into Big Ten basketball.”
After losing the Big Ten opener at home, Michigan State players would like nothing more than to turn the tables on the Badgers in the Kohl Center. For Spartan players, however, it is less about beating a rival on the road in the Big Ten than it is building on the progress that has been made during a three-game winning streak.
“We are just trying to put some games together,” senior point guard AJ Hoggard said. “It is a big game in itself because we are back on the road again, and then it being Wisconsin on top of that, and them being a Top 15 team. Just going into their environment, we’ve go to have focus and leadership. Use our road experience and go in there trying to get a win.”
Will Michigan State change how it defends Crowl, Storr?
While Hall was a husk of himself in the first meeting between these teams, the Wisconsin duo of AJ Storr and Steven Crowl had out-of-body experiences as perimeter scorers, defying the Michigan State scouting report to shoot 8-for-10 from behind the 3-point line.
“The guy that hurt us so much was Storr, who was their one transfer in this year,” Tom Izzo said of Storr, an athletic wing who began his college career at St. Johns. “He hits four threes against us, and I think he has 12 for the year (against Big Ten teams). Crowl hits four threes against us, and I think he has got seven for the Big Ten season.”
Storr and Crowl had made a combined 33 threes on the year coming into the current week. The duo is averaging just under two made threes per game combined this season. Storr, who leads Wisconsin in scoring average (15.3), has made 7-of-21 threes against Big Ten teams since dropping four threes on the Spartans in East Lansing. Crowl, who is shooting over 50 percent from behind the 3-point line on the year, had made just three of his next nine threes against Big Ten opponents after torching the Spartans before going 1-for-2 from beyond the arc in a hard-fought win at this week.
The Spartans did not expect Crowl, a 7-footer, to beat them with his jumper. Similarly, the Spartans were far more wary of Storr’s explosive ability to make plays inside the arc driving to the basket or in transition than his capacity to knock down threes.
“Storr made tough shots,” Izzo said.
Crowl made open jumpers, with Michigan State giving him the space to do so. In the rematch, the Spartans will be less inclined to dare the Wisconsin 7-footer to shoot the deep ball.
“We are not going to take that chance, we are going to guard him,” Izzo said. “So, we’ll take the analytics and stick it.”
With five days to prepare for Wisconsin, Michigan State should be fresh for this game. The time between last weekend’s game at Maryland and Friday’s game at Wisconsin should give starting guard Jaden Akins, who practiced on Tuesday, time to regain some the mobility he lost after spraining his ankle at Maryland. Whether extra time to prepare for Wisconsin will aid Michigan State in pulling off a road upset of against a Top 15 opponent remains to be seen. The Badgers enter this game sitting atop the Big Ten standings following a Tuesday night road win at Minnesota, and they are deserving of their lofty ranking.
“We should be a little bit more prepared than we were last time, a little bit more rested,” Hall said. “For us, every game we play is going to have an impact on the rest of the year for us. It would be nice to get above .500 (in Big Ten play), it would be nice to take down the No. 1 team, we are trying to get a win in every single one.”
Hall is back for Michigan State in a big way
The timing of the first match-up between Michigan State and Wisconsin favored the Badgers in that not only were Crowl and Storr abnormally hot from behind the 3-point arc, but Spartan senior Malik Hall was also ineffective in his role as a four. Although he showed grit in playing through illness, Hall was on the losing end of a difficult match-up with Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl.
“He was really sick the last time we played these guys,” Izzo said. “He didn’t play well in that game, and that hurt us.”
Both Hall and Wahl are among the most versatile in college basketball. Both Wisconsin and Michigan State rely heavily on their respective senior forwards to provide far more than their stats might indicate. In the first meeting between these two teams, Wahl was the much-needed X-Factor for Wisconsin. After the Spartans captured momentum from the Badgers during the first seven minutes of the second half in the Big Ten opener, Wahl did the dirty work necessary to take momentum back from the Spartans.
“Him and Donta Scott, there are a lot of guys in the league that I’ve went against for a couple of years now,” Hall said. “I think it is just interesting to see the progression that we’ve made. It’s nice to see that other teams are growing and getting better. We know each other pretty well, know our tendencies. It makes the game fun.”
Late in the second half, Wahl made his biggest impact on the glass, securing offensive rebounds that resulted in Wisconsin scores. Wahl also made an impact on offense. Although he scored just eight points in that game, Wahl made a couple of critical scoring plays when his team needed them late in the second half beyond his impact on defense and as a rebounder.
Rebounding has been a weakness for Michigan State to this point in the season. The Spartans were outrebounded badly last time out at Maryland, and it might have cost them a victory if not for some late heroics by veteran guards Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard. The Spartans cannot afford to have a flat rebounding performance on the road against Wisconsin.
“The disappointing part is that we got our butts kicked on the boards,” said Izzo referencing a 37-22 Maryland rebounding advantage over Michigan State in a 61-59 Spartan win on the road last time out, “and the last time we played Wisconsin. Both teams outrebounded us, so that will be a point of emphasis.”
Hall is one of four Michigan State players averaging double figures along with Walker (19.7), Hoggard (11.2), and Akins (10.4). Hall ranks third in scoring (11.1) for the Spartans, second in rebounding (5.2), and second in field-goal percentage (.505) among Michigan State starters.
Hall has scored in double figures in all but two of Michigan State’s eight Big Ten games to this point in the season. Playing through illness in the first meeting with Wisconsin, Hall scored just two points in 23 minutes. He attempted just three shots in the loss.
“I am happy that I get to practice beforehand and actually get to prep,” said Hall after practice on Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to it. I was sick the whole time and didn’t practice the week before. I showed up and did the pre-game shootaround and played. Obviously, I wasn’t myself, the way I wanted to be.”
Wisconsin has no shortage of talent, depth, experience
Wisconsin is among the most veteran teams in the Big Ten. Wahl, Crowl, and Chucky Hepburn have as much experience as any trio in the league, and the Badgers have effectively integrated young athletes like AJ Storr and Jonathan Blackwell into their operation. The athleticism and attack-first mentality of Storr has provided an effective change-up from the methodical offense favored by head coach Greg Gard. With Storr providing fresh energy, the Badgers are less predictable than they have been in past years.
Whereas Crowl is a reliable inside scoring threat and Wahl is a plus rebounder, plus defender, and an underrated scoring threat with the ability to score with either hand at the four, Max Klesmit is a dangerous spot-up shooter making better 50 percent from three on the year.
“They are good at all positions, and have some depth,” Izzo said. “Well-coached and a tough place to play. Big challenge for us, one I’m looking forward to.”
Hepburn is a steady presence at point guard for Wisconsin, who doesn’t have to do more than he is capable of as a scorer or facilitator.
“He is as solid a point guard as there is in our league,” Izzo said. “He shoots it when he has to, and he has really changed his game from when he was a freshman. He is as solid and as steady a player as they’ve got.”
Michigan State is a different team now than it was in the Big Ten opener.
“We are more together as a team,” Hall said. “As the year goes on, you continue to grow as a team. You continue to evolve. You go through games and learn how to adjust. Luckily we get to play teams another time.”
Will that be enough for an upset?
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