EAST LANSING – Typically during Tom Izzo’s 29 seasons as Michigan State’s head coach, it’s been his opponents that have had to prepare for a light-speed fast break that can change a game on a dime.
This weekend, though, Izzo is the one preparing to face a high-level fast break as he gets his team ready to take on No. 10 Illinois on Saturday at home (2 p.m., CBS).
“It’s going to be a helter-skelter game,” Izzo said on Thursday after his team’s practice. “You’re going to see a break like you haven’t seen since we were here in 2000. It is a very good break.”
Slowing down that break will be critical to Michigan State’s chances of earning a win in what looms as a crucial contest on the Spartans’ late-season schedule.
After a Tuesday loss at Minnesota, the Spartans are hanging on toward the end of most NCAA Tournament predictions at 14-9 overall and 6-6 in Big Ten play. Illinois (17-5, 8-3) will likely be the only ranked team to visit the Breslin Center the rest of the season and only of only two ranked teams remaining on the Spartans’ schedule overall.
“It’s a big opportunity, you know,” Spartans point guard A.J. Hoggard said. “A big opportunity for us to get back in the human race, get a big win, and just a big opportunity for us to go out there in front of our fans, go and try to get a big win, at home.”
The Spartans came close to upsetting Illinois on Jan. 11 in Champaign: Hoggard missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left and his team fell by three points. It led by six points early in the second half.
Since that game, though, guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has returned to the Illini following a six-game suspension stemming from a sexual assault allegation. The All-Big Ten guard, who averages 20 points per game, has juiced the Illini fast break even more, Izzo said.
“They’re different mostly in transition,” Izzo said of Illinois after Shannon’s return. “He just puts his head down and he’s a locomotive on the tracks. He just puts his head down and goes. He’s averaging eight or nine free throws per game.”
As for his own team, Izzo said avoiding scoring droughts is near the top of his list of tasks. When Michigan State lost at Illinois, it scored just six points in a critical six-minute stretch in the second half as it went from ahead by six points to down by seven. On Tuesday at Minnesota, the Spartans had a scoreless five minutes as Minnesota rallied for 10 straight points to take a lead.
Hoggard took blame for Michigan State’s offensive drought against Minnesota, which he attributed to a lack of movement on offense and poor shot selection.
“We’ve got to figure out ways to win and stop figuring out ways to lose,” Hoggard said.
But if history his season is any indication, the Spartans should see better play on Saturday: they’re 12-2 at home and 2-7 in games played outside of the Breslin Center.
That could give Michigan State a good chance at earning a critical resume win – as long as it gets back on defense.
“You’ve got to get back,” Izzo said. “If A.J. forgets to get back or Tyson forgets to get back, we’re in trouble. We’ve got to build a wall, that’s what we’ve got to do, that’s what we’ve worked on.”