EAST LANSING – “Casual” is not a term Tom Izzo uses lightly. This usually means he wants sharper focus and intensity on certain facets of his Michigan State Basketball players.
A new year brought the return of the dreaded word. And Izzo’s biggest ask with Big Ten play remaining is for the Spartans to cut down on their turnovers again.
This is an area that the 30th year head coach has spoken about both before and after Monday’s 80-62 win over Western Michigan to close out non-conference play with six straight wins. And its drumbeat continued after practice Wednesday as No. 15 MSU prepares to hit the road for Ohio State on Friday (8 p.m., Fox).
The Spartans (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) committed 11 of their 17 turnovers against the Broncos in the first half, and they turn the ball over 12.2 times per game to rank 191st nationally and 16th in 18 Big Ten teams. .
“The truth is, it’s not that I wasn’t happy with the effort,” Izzo reflected Wednesday about WMU’s victory. “I felt like we were relaxed with our passes, the turnovers. If you look at what we did defensively and take away five turnovers for touchdowns, we probably did as good a job as we needed to defensively.
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A year ago, the Spartans committed the fewest turnovers per game (10) of Izzo’s career, 35th nationally and fourth in the conference. This came after Izzo’s previous low of 10.9 per game during the 2022-23 season.
Prior to the last two years, Izzo’s previous teams turned the ball over 13.7 times per game over his first 27 seasons.
“I think that focus needs to be managed,” Izzo said. “And if you look at the (WMU) game, I think we had seven guys with two turnovers. It wasn’t like one guy had four, everyone had a few. So that’s where I thought we were a little casual. …
“I don’t think it’s that they don’t care. Sometimes I think we’re going a little too fast.
There is some truth to this, as well as some benefits despite the rise in freebies.
MSU shows renewed ability to run in transition with point guards Jeremy Fears Jr.Tre Holloman and Jase Richardson. Last season, with guards AJ Hoggard and Tyson Walker, the Spartans had one of the worst adjusted tempo rankings in the country according to KenPom.com, finishing 309th out of 362 Division I teams overall with the 210th best average length of possession on offense (17.8 seconds). this was 0.3 slower than the DI average.
Through 13 games, MSU has picked up its pace and ranks 92nd with 16.6 seconds, which is 0.8 faster than DI’s average. MSU enters the new year leading the nation in fast break points (20.2 per game) after finishing last season 22nd nationally (14.1).
The Buckeyes (9-4, 1-1) force just 12 turnovers per game, but are on a strong run with three straight wins, including an 85-65 victory over No. 11 Kentucky.
“Those few games in the Big Ten matter, especially a road game,” Holloman said Wednesday. “We need this game. And that will tell us where our team is.
A year ago on Jan. 1, the Spartans were scoring 16.2 points at halftime and averaging 77.2 per game. They finished non-conference games Monday with an average of 82 points, an increase of almost five points from the same period a year ago.
But Izzo wants to make sure his players are comfortable, knowing that a faster pace doesn’t mean they can afford to be sloppy.
“I just don’t want to use that as an excuse, just because that’s the way we play,” he said. “And we play that way all the time, so the guys should get used to it.”
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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Next game
Match : No. 15 Michigan State (11-2, 2-0 Big Ten) at Ohio State (9-4, 1-1).
Trick : 8 p.m. Friday; Valor City Arena, Columbus, Ohio.
Television/radio: Fox; WJIM 1240-AM, 94.9-FM
This article was originally published on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball focuses on critical stats against Ohio State
