ATLANTA — Roughly 20 minutes after the final buzzer sounded to seal Michigan State’s 77-69 loss to Kansas, Tom Izzo sat at the podium and tried to make sense of what had just happened. “It’s hard to figure out what to say,” he began.
Izzo is rarely at a loss for words, but the game was truly stump-worthy. On the one hand, the Spartans had hung with the No. 1 team in the country for a full 40 minutes. On the other, they had played an ugly, sloppy, brick-filled game, squandering an opportunity to pull off the upset and advance to 3-0. The Jayhawks weren’t much better, shooting 29 percent from long range. “I think Bill [Self] agrees with me,” Izzo said. “Offensively, we both sucked.”
There is, however, a considerable bright side to shooting 35 percent from the field and 13 percent from three: it can’t get any worse. “I would like to make maybe just two more threes,” Izzo joked. “Not be greedy or selfish, just maybe two out of a hundred.”
Here’s another reason for optimism: the Spartans’ problems are fixable. But they need to be rectified quickly — they will travel to Hawaii in less than 10 days for the Maui Invitational, where they could meet powerhouses like No. 3 UConn, No. 5 Auburn, No. 7 Iowa State and No. 10 North Carolina. If Michigan State plays like it did at the Champions Classic, it could be a long week by the beach.
It starts, of course, with shooting. The Spartans are shooting a dismal 12 of 60 (20 percent) from behind the arc through their first three games. It was a similar story last year, when the team connected on just 18 percent of its threes through the first four games before settling in and making 38 percent the rest of the way.
Michigan State is counting on Jaden Akins to fill a massive void offensively. Gone are the three leading scorers from last year, Tyson Walker, Malik Hall and A.J. Hoggard. Akins was right behind them at 10.4 points per game, shooting 36 percent from three. Izzo praised the character and work ethic of Akins, who was named one of the team captains, but he also said that the senior guard may be pressing a bit given his new role.
“He’s going to have to work his way through it,” Izzo said. “He’s been a career 37, 38 percent three-point shooter and he works too hard for that not to happen. It’s just disappointing that in the first game he shot pretty well, second game not so good and this game terrible. I have faith in Jaden. I’m just disappointed and I feel sorry for him because I think he’s a much better player than he showed tonight.”
Akins finished with two points on 1 of 8 shooting in the loss to Kansas. He has made just one of his first 11 attempts from three. Those numbers, while discouraging, will certainly improve as Akins gets more accustomed to being at the top of opposing scouting reports.
Junior guard Tre Holloman, another player Izzo is depending on to step up offensively, has likewise been shaky out of the gate, shooting 2 of 9 from three and averaging 5.3 points per game. Like Akins, he has proven to be a deep threat in the past, knocking down 43 percent of his threes in 2023-24.
Izzo thought his guys created good looks versus Kansas, particularly in the first half. Unfortunately, very few of them found the bottom of the net. Senior Frankie Fidler, a 6-foot-7 senior transfer from Nebraska Omaha, led the Spartans with 15 points, but he was just 3 of 12 from the field. With ample space to launch, sophomore forward Xavier Booker missed all four of his three-point attempts.
Michigan State isn’t built to be a lethal perimeter shooting team, but it can’t be this awful and beat good teams. Slight tweaks may help its cause as well. Freshman guard Jase Richardson, son of former MSU star Jason Richardson, could take on an expanded role. Richardson has provided a spark off the bench so far, averaging 10 points on 65 percent shooting in 20 minutes. Junior forward Jaxon Kohler has posted back-to-back double-doubles in limited minutes — if he can turn into a formidable low post option, that should provide more kick out opportunities. Izzo also hinted at possibly giving freshman Kur Teng a shot. The four-star recruit shot 49 percent from three in the 2023 adidas #3SSB circuit.
For what it’s worth, Izzo seemed less concerned about his squad’s poor shooting and more about its other shortcomings against Kansas. Players who struggled to score did not find other ways to contribute. Akins had one rebound, zero assists and two turnovers in 26 minutes. The 6-foot-11 Booker also pulled down merely one rebound in 13 minutes.
“Book missed wide open shot after shot, which I don’t care about. I really don’t,” Izzo said. “He’s just got to rebound better. He’s got to do something.”
Staying engaged, competing with energy, attacking the boards — again, these are fixable problems. The Spartans just have to be committed to addressing them before going to Maui.
On a positive note, Michigan State has shown signs of being an elite defensive team. After holding Kansas to 41 percent shooting from the field, the Spartans rank 11th in defensive rating, per KenPom. “They play super hard and super fast,” said Jayhawks point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. They also have size with Booker and seven-foot senior center Szymon Zapala, a transfer from Longwood.
Izzo’s defensive game plan against Kansas was focused on containing forward K.J. Adams Jr. and not allowing the guards, especially Zeke Mayo, to erupt. Check and check. “We did everything we wanted to do in the scouting report,” Izzo said. The report did not call for doubling center Hunter Dickinson, who went for 28 points and 12 rebounds.
Despite his dominant performance and clear resentment toward Michigan State (a product of his days at Michigan), Dickinson did offer some kind words about his old rival. “We beat a Michigan State team that probably will end up in the top 25,” he said. “Obviously they’re not there right now, but they’re a really good team.”
Sure, the issues have been apparent, but there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful in East Lansing. Even in his frustrated state, Izzo wrapped his postgame press conference on Tuesday with an encouraging message. “We’re going to get better,” he said. “If you can shoot that poorly and be in a game against a good team, there’s something positive there. And we’re going to try to build on it.”
