Michigan State dropped another high-profile game.
Arizona defeated Michigan State 74-68.
Earlier in the season, the Spartans lost to Duke.
The Wildcats were led by Keshad Johnson, who scored 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Tyson Walker led Michigan State with 18 points.
Love Child: It’s been a while since Caleb Love resembled the Final Four version of Caleb Love, but he was close to that against Michigan State. Love still struggles from the three-point line, shooting an inefficient 2-9. Still, his 17-point performance was a difference-maker, just like performances like this were a difference-maker for North Carolina two seasons ago. The three before the half was big, but his most important make came when Arizona was down three down the stretch, and Love hit an important floater. Love’s defensive effort was much better than it was, at times, in Chapel Hill. Love will never be a high-percentage shooter, partly because his shot selection isn’t the best, but he needs to have a positive impact for Arizona to get to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
All Talk: Michigan State is always gloried for having this physical, rough, and rugged style on defense. It wasn’t there against Arizona. The Wildcats constantly got two feet in the paint in the first half. That was the key to Arizona’s 46% shooting performance from the floor. Spartans were undisciplined off the ball. They frequently got backdoored because their off-ball defenders were staring at the ball. Michigan State’s inconsistent defensive discipline will cost them against high-level teams.
Fizzling Down the Stretch: Give the Spartans some credit. They came out of the locker room with more intensity and efficiency. The defense was much better, and the offense had players not named Tyson Walker carry the team offensively. After being scoreless in the first half, AJ Hoggard had 15 points, and Jaden Akins had 12. But the first-half inefficiency would cost them late in the game when it was winning time. Michigan State missed their final six shots and didn’t hit a field for the final 3:58 of the game. It’s the problem with their defense being so inconsistent in the first 20 minutes of the game.
