Tom Izzo critical of Michigan State's defense following win

Teams are battening down the hatches for postseason play to begin starting over the next week. With that in mind, Tom Izzo says there’s one area where Michigan State has to get better if they want to compete this March.

Izzo went after the Spartan’s defense following their 84-78 win over Ohio State to end the regular season. He feels as though their intensity on that end has fallen off towards the end of the year. Now, considering how they’ve improved offensively, he wants to see them pick it up to what he’s accustomed to from them on that side of the floor.

“We’re playing good and I’ll get to that but our defense has been terrible,” Izzo emphasized. “We’re not guarding. And that’s gotta change, you know? We went from one or two in the league…And yet we’re not guarding.”

“Some of it is matchups…But we’re shooting 54% and 60% and a coach should be happy. But, honestly, I’m not because I know we’re not gonna win that way,” said Izzo. “We’ve got to do a better job defensively.”

Michigan State won three of its final four games to set their record at 19-11. However, in their final five games, they gave up an average of 81.2 points per game. While that included holding Indiana and Nebraska to under 70, that also included giving up 78 to the Buckeyes, 84 to Michigan, and 112 in an overtime loss at Iowa.

Izzo’s team finished Top-40 nationally in defensive efficiency per KenPom but, over time, that fell to just 7th best out of teams in the Big Ten. That’s why, heading into postseason play, he trusts that his team can figure it out again in time to capitalize on their growth overall.

“If you’re shooting the ball this good? We should be able to regain our defense because we’ve been there for two-thirds of the year,” Izzo said. “It’s not like we have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to get back to understanding that.”