Michigan Basketball: 3 takeaways from lowly loss to Michigan State

Michigan basketball gave the Spartans everything that they wanted in the first stanza, but no-showed in the second to ultimately get steamrolled by Michigan State.

In the first half, Michigan basketball was matching the Spartans step-for-step. The Wolverines held multiple leads, but couldn’t fully put it all together.

Once the second half got underway it was all Michigan State. The Spartans opened up a double-digit lead and Michigan basketball had no response to the onslaught. Michigan State’s effort was much more persistent and finalized Michigan’s brief three game winning streak.

Here are the three takeaways.

1.  The second half collapse was the difference

Michigan came out of the break down four and couldn’t score a bucket for three and a half minutes. At that point, the Wolverines were already trailing by 10. It was all downhill from then on. Michigan’s defense let the Spartans get to the basket far too often for wide open shots in and out of the paint.

Michigan State’s biggest lead of the day got to 20. Their defense forced the Wolverines into 13 turnovers. They made the Wolverines look foolish on several trips down the floor.

A.J. Hoggard’s ball fake and score and Gabe Brown’s emphatic throwdown were just two examples that come to mind.

Michigan State’s shooting was consistent as well. They shot better then 50% from the field and from deep. That’s the kind of balance that every team practices for in order to find the consistency that is needed to win any game. Michigan will have to rewatch this tape and learn from the Spartans when they potentially faceoff again somewhere in the near future.