Tom Izzo addresses concern over late-game scenarios, impact of turnovers

Michigan State is coming down the stretch run of the season, hoping to make a move inside the Big Ten. A theme over the past few weeks have been some of the close contests head coach Tom Izzo has seen his team in. Results have varied, pulling out a few wins but stacking up losses at the same time.

Turnovers have been the name of the game for Izzo when discussing some of the leads being blown. Michigan State has been on the wrong side of the turnover margin at times, having double-digit against multiple conference opponents. Izzo believes if the Spartans are going to improve, they must be eliminated.

“I think we’re still a work in progress,” Izzo said. “I think we have been all year. We got to take care of the turnovers. We’ve got 14 in two out of the the last three games. You look at some of those games. At Indiana, you’re up five. At Illinois, you’re up nine. And those teams, especially at the time of the league, are probably better than us. But there is a common denominator there that we got to fix.”

Izzo’s comments came following the Rutgers loss at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. He has already seen improvement from his team, taking down Maryland at home to pull above .500 in conference play. Michigan State finished with just eight turnovers and won a five-point contest.

The frustration stems from Saturday’s matchup, where Michigan State lost by six. Thirteen total turnovers were committed, with AJ Hoggard having five of his own. Those type of numbers in a close battle will usually produce a losing result.

Turnovers have actually been good from an overall perspective, being top 10 in the country. Michigan State gives the ball up less than 10 time a game, coming in at an average of 9.7.

But on the flip side, forcing them has been somewhat of an issue. Teams are able to keep their turnovers down against the Spartans, averaging 11.1 a game. Something is going to have to change for Izzo as we approach the middle of February.