Michigan State basketball wasn't worthy of No. 1 ranking. Not yet

NEW YORK – Expectation isn’t always Tom Izzo’s friend. He knows it, too.  

Outsiders take stock of his Michigan State basketball roster and figure it’s worthy of a No. 1 ranking. And maybe it is. Eventually.  

It’s just not yet. And it showed that Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, where the Spartans struggled to get out of their own way in a 69-62 loss to No. 2 Kentucky. 

Struggled to shoot, too. And sometimes pass. And defend without fouling. And make the one play that could pull them even after falling behind, nearly catching up, then falling behind and nearly catching up all game. 

In a showdown of the top two teams in college basketball, it was Kentucky that looked more comfortable on the stage, and it was Kentucky who had the best player on the floor. 

Cassius Winston had his moments, just not themoment. That belonged to Tyrese Maxey, the Wildcats’ freshman point guard who hit a 3 with a minute left in the game to push a two-point lead to five.  

Winston, meanwhile, had opportunities and missed. But then he wasn’t the only Spartan who did. 

There will be more nights like this, of course. More nights when MSU can’t shoot and fouls too much and isn’t entirely sure of itself. 

And while the Spartans deserve credit for fighting back and sticking around on a night when they missed 21 3-point attempts and made only five, they are a long way from the team Izzo hopes — and thinks — they can be. 

It’s not easy replacing seniors who always do the right thing and know how to make shots late in the game. Matt McQuaid and Kenny Goins may have been role players last season, but their roles were mighty important. 

Until Izzo finds the right fits in those slots, MSU will look like it did against Kentucky — hesitant, discombobulated, unable to make the crucial shot. 

Marcus Bingham played himself into the rotation. The 6-11 sophomore arrived in East Lansing as thick as a pencil, but with skill. His lack of bulk kept him on the bench last season. 

He got his chance because of foul trouble. He’d put on 25 pounds in the offseason and the extra strength showed immediately.  

He fought in the paint, grabbing six rebounds. He ran the floor. He caught an alley-oop for a dunk. Dunked again after grabbing an offensive rebound.  

He turned the ball over when MSU was making its final push with six minutes remaining, spinning on the block into trouble and kicking it out to no one. Izzo will have to live with the mistakes.  

Bingham is more than a post player. He’s a stretch big who can make 3s. And while he missed his only attempt, he showed good form.  

If this is the player Izzo can count on for this season, a feisty, skilled big man who is still growing into his body, then he’ll give MSU more depth at its most uncertain position.  

College basketball needs to allow six fouls. Players are too quick and athletic for five fouls. 

Not that the Spartans didn’t deserve many of their cheap fouls, especially the reach-ins after getting beat off the dribble. But when a coach is forced to sit a player less than three minutes into the game, as Izzo did with Aaron Henry, it takes away from the game. 

College basketball opens its season with a showcase at Madison Square Garden with four of the game’s most iconic programs, and fans get to see … fouls? 

If college officials are going to call such a tight game, coaches and players need the extra foul so that teams aren’t playing five bench players the last three minutes of the first half — as MSU was forced to do.  

Source: Freep.com

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