Michigan Basketball: Loss to Spartans is no reason to panic

There’s not a lot of positive things to say about Michigan basketball‘s loss to Michigan State on Sunday. The Wolverines came out flat and didn’t really look engaged until it was too late.

Eli Brooks, who I’ve often said is the glue guy for Michigan basketball, left the game with an early injury and if his status is up in the air going forward, that’s a concern.

Yet, outside of that, I wouldn’t worry too much about the loss to Michigan State.

The Spartans were certainly the more motivated team on Sunday and they should have been. Michigan locked up the Big Ten title Thursday and the Wolverines are a solid No. 1 seed, likely even if they lost their next game.

Michigan State, on the other hand, needed a win just to guarantee a spot in the tournament and that should be locked up now.

How Michigan State pulled it off

Rockett Watts came off the bench and scored 21 points. He was stellar. But if Brooks was there, it could have made a difference. Instead, Michigan was using Zeb Jackson at times and outside of some nice passes, he struggled again.

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Jackson isn’t a bad player, just as with Watts, it takes time. Aaron Henry was also spectacular and Joshua Langford hit a big shot when the game was on the line.

This team is coached by Tom Izzo after all, had already beaten two other top-5 teams and is still filled with top-100 recruits.

Michigan State shot 44 percent from the field and 36 percent from 3-point range. But the Spartans won the game with their defense and getting to the free throw line.

They held Wagner to a 4-of-12 shooting day and even though Hunter Dickinson scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, foul trouble limited his minutes and he really didn’t make an impact until the last few minutes.

It’s disappointing but not surprising. The biggest surprise was just how flat the Wolverines were. Yet, when you consider they were playing their sixth game in two weeks, as well as their arch-rival for the second time in three days, they can probably be forgiven.

Call this a trap game or whatever. At the end of the day, Michigan State wanted it more. The Wolverines need to respond but they won’t play until Friday in the Big Ten quarterfinals.

And as long as Brooks is able to play, I wouldn’t worry about the long-term ramifications of this loss, although it was still a missed opportunity.