John Fanta
College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter
Where have you heard this before? March is less than two weeks away, and Tom Izzo has won five of his last six games, and eight of the last 10. And on Saturday night, when it got to crunch time, Michigan State closed the deal.
The Spartans held in-state rival Michigan scoreless over the final seven minutes at the Crisler Center, closing the game on a 10-0 run to take home a 73-63 win, their first in Ann Arbor in five years and the completion of a season sweep.
Was it always pretty for the Spartans? Far from it. Michigan State only shot 2-for-14 from beyond the 3-point arc, with Jaden Akins and AJ Hoggard struggling to find a rhythm. But when they needed to lock in defensively and make key plays, Tyson Walker and Malik Hall showed their senior leadership with a combined 37 points.
As for the Wolverines, it’s the latest stumble in a season filled with them. Juwan Howard’s team is last in the Big Ten standings, falling to 8-18 overall and 3-12 in conference play.
Here are three takeaways:
Malik Hall keeps coming on strong.
With just over four minutes remaining in the game and the shot clock winding down, Michigan State needed someone other than Walker to make a play. Hall showed his versatility from the left wing, getting a quick step on his defender and throwing down a nasty one-handed jam that sent Gus Johnson into a loud “WOOOOOOO!”
Michigan State’s Malik Hall throws down a monster one-handed dunk to extend the lead against Michigan
Tom Izzo said this week that the fifth-year senior is playing the best basketball of his career. Well, Hall backed him up again on Saturday night with his 19-point performance. Over Hall’s last 11 games, the 6-foot-8 veteran is averaging 16 points per contest. But it gets better: Over the last three games, the Aurora, Illinois native has averaged 23 points per contest on 72% shooting from the floor.
Michigan State has an alpha in Walker, who’s averaging 18.4 points per game. But the reason why the Spartans struggled so much early on this season is their offensive identity was very unclear after their lead guard. Hall is putting those questions to bed right now. Just imagine if Hoggard and Akins can find some consistency.
The Spartans have experience. They have a lead star. They have a Hall of Fame coach. While this season hasn’t lived up to the hype, this Michigan State team can do some serious damage.
Would you want your team to be in the same pod during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament as a program that has reached the Sweet 16 a total of 15 times in the last 28 years? A 29-win Marquette team that won the Big East last year tried that route and was bounced much earlier than expected. While the Spartans have had their struggles, they’re one of the oldest teams in college basketball and a 13-4 mark in the last 17 games is encouraging. The analytics continue to like this team, as Michigan State is one of 11 teams in the country to rank in the top 25 in both KenPom offense and defense.
Right now, the Spartans are listed as an 8-seed in Mike Decourcy’s latest bracket forecast. They own four Quadrant 1 wins, a solid number, and no Q3 or Q4 losses. Their upcoming schedule:
Tuesday: vs. Iowa
Feb. 25: vs. Ohio State
March 2: at No. 2 Purdue (FOX Primetime Hoops)
March 6: vs. Northwestern
March 10: at Indiana
This team should enter West Lafayette having won seven of their last eight games. Their confidence should be in a good place, and I like the fact that Coen Carr and Tre Holloman gave them a combined 14 points on Saturday night.
My key player is Hoggard.
He delivered 23 points in the statement win over Illinois but has not scored more than six points in the four games surrounding that performance. He made some bold statements in the preseason. It’s time to put a surge together. If he does, the combo of Walker, Hall and Hoggard could be really problematic and change this group’s ceiling into a second-weekend team that could have a puncher’s chance at crashing March Madness.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has a dilemma on his hands.
Last year, Michigan missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. The Wolverines have not gone back-to-back seasons without a bid to the Big Dance since 2007 and 2008. That’s about to happen in Ann Arbor, something that is far below the standards there. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has given Howard multiple votes of confidence this season. The first came in December after Howard got into an alleged confrontation with Michigan head strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson.
The second came earlier this week when Manuel was asked about the state of the program.
“It would be fair to say that I have not really thought about any changes in our men’s basketball program at this time,” Manuel told reporters. “I just want to support Juwan.”
The fact is, the eight-year AD has a conundrum with his men’s basketball program. It’s going to be really interesting to see if a change is made, but Howard’s status as a member of the Fab Five makes this quite the situation for Michigan’s administration to navigate. The Wolverines return to action at 9 p.m. ET Thursday at Northwestern on FS1.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter at @John_Fanta.
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