Michigan State’s Frustrating Season

The only thing worse than a terrible team having a bad season is a historically great team having a bad season.  According to Michigan State fans, their season has been a disaster, based on the high standard they hold for the Spartans every year.  Personally, I’ll admit that Michigan State is definitely having a subpar season, especially when compared to last season’s successes up until the NCAA tournament, but the outcry from fans about the Spartans’ handful of losses is definitely blown out of proportion.  

This frustration from Michigan State fans first was heard after the back to back to back losses vs unranked Ohio State and Indiana on 1/15 and 1/21 and #16 Purdue on 1/24.  To be fair, their loss to Purdue was their third straight loss, with every loss coming from a Big 10 school, that resulted with a 12-9 record and a 4-4 record in the Big 10.  However, since then Michigan State has had notable in Conference wins against both Michigan and Nebraska.  But on the other hand, Michigan State did follow this up by recording a simply embarrassing 29 point loss to in state and in Conference rivals Michigan in Ann Arbor.  This loss, along with any other future Big 10 losses, will definitely hurt their season, but their 21 turnovers and the fact that it’s extremely hard to record a win on the road in a major Conference, especially against a rival, could definitely be the reason as to why they lost to the Wolverines, and why a loss like this should not happen again this season.  Even without these wins, Michigan State’s season is far from over, even after their loss to Purdue, which caused the initial outcry from fans.  For starters, the Spartans have had to battle their way through probably one of the hardest schedules in College Basketball.  Taking on historically excellent teams like Arizona, Kentucky, Baylor, and Duke, who all happened to be ranked in the top 25 this season, along with other notable NCAA teams like Wichita State and Florida Gulf Coast, it’s no surprise that Michigan State has recorded a significant amount of losses.  However, Tom Izzo’s Spartans have also had some prominent wins as well this season, recording two wins against a formerly ranked Minnesota squad, a win against the formerly #25 Northwestern, who are one of the teams ahead of Michigan State in the standings in the Big 10, and an astonishing 47 point win against Mississippi Valley State.  Also, the second half of Michigan State’s schedule is a lot easier than the first half, which could allow them to record at least 17 regular season wins, finish above .500, and find a spot in the NCAA tournament as a lower seed that is not to be reckoned with.

All in all things could be a lot worse.  Take Duke for example: an equally historic organization that is having not only problems on the court, but off the court as well.  Problems with Grayson Allen’s behavior, locking players out of the gym and banning them from wearing Duke gear, and the serious health issues that Coach Krzyzewski has dealt with that have prevented him from coaching a handful of games have caused Duke to have an even more frustrating season than Michigan State.  The truth is losing 3 in Conference games in a row, or 1 embarassing loss to Michigan, isn’t the end of the world for a successful organization like Michigan State.  It’s definitely not great, and it will hurt their NCAA tournament seeding, but it’s not the end of the world.  Also, it is important to note that the Big 10 is changing.  Programs like Maryland and Northwestern, even though Northwestern has also lost to Purdue and has yet to play Maryland or Wisconsin, have gotten better over the years.  Let’s not also forget that the Big 10 is one of the best Conferences in the country and constantly hosts some of the best College Basketball teams in the nation.  It definitely is frustrating for Spartan fans to see their team at a mere 14-10 record as the 5th best team in the Big 10, but considering the fact that other programs have gotten better, and due to the fact that Michigan State lost two of their most significant players last year, Denzel Valentine and Matt Costello, it’s no surprise that Michigan State might have a difficult time adjusting to the 2016-17 season.  Michigan State will definitely have an appearance in this year’s tournament, and based off last year’s run, maybe it’s best that Tom Izzo and the Spartans don’t start the tournament as a 2 seed.  

Written by Erik Clark