Michigan State basketball: Izzo focused on rebounding, free throws vs. Ferris State

Posted by Admin October 29, 2024 Basketball

EAST LANSING – It’s been a little more than two weeks since Tom Izzo’s warm return to the Upper Peninsula.

It’s almost back to reality, with Michigan State basketball’s regular season closing quickly. But first, the Spartans get one more tuneup and test against a Division II opponent.

And a better opportunity for Izzo to dial in his lineups closer to the frequency he needs for the challenging season ahead.

MSU tips off its second and final exhibition game at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Ferris State at Breslin Center. The game will be streaming on BTN-Plus.

“Hopefully I get into some consistency. Like who we start – maybe it’s not (finalized) yet, but soon – and who the first couple guys are off the bench,” Izzo said Thursday. “But we’re still gonna play a lot of people.”

In the Spartans’ opening exhibition game on Oct. 13 at Izzo’s alma mater, Northern Michigan, he rotated waves of lineups and used different combinations to build a 27-point lead midway through the second half en route to a 70-53 victory. Eleven MSU players got between 14 and 21 minutes and scored, led by 11 points from reserve freshman guard Jase Richardson and 10 points from starting sophomore forward Xavier Booker.

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The game itself really was more of a way to celebrate Izzo and all things Yooper as Northern Michigan retired its former All-American point guard’s No. 10. The Iron Mountain native forgave his team for some of the distractions he brought to them by taking the game and his Division I powerhouse program to Marquette for the first time since 1975.

One thing he did not like, in the minutes afterward and still two weeks later, was how poorly he felt the Spartans rebounded against a markedly smaller NMU lineup. MSU finished with a 40-29 advantage but gave up eight offensive boards to the Wildcats while grabbing just nine. That led Izzo to focus more on rebounding, as well as free-throw box outs and other intricacies – including a lengthy segment of practice Thursday on jump balls – with Ferris arriving and the regular season starting next Monday at home against Monmouth.

“We’re charting every practice now instead of just games,” said Izzo, who is entering his 30th season as MSU’s head coach. “It’s helped us a lot as far as holding guys accountable.”

The Bulldogs finished 28-8 last season, advancing to the Division II Elite Eight after winning the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament title. Ferris State lost twice to NMU during the regular season and finished tied at 13-5 in the GLIAC standings, but the Bulldogs beat the Wildcats in the first round of their NCAA tournament.

Ferris coach Andy Bronkema added seven new players to his roster since the deep postseason run in the March.

“Northern’s got a pretty good team. Ferris is usually really good, they’ve played for national championships,” Izzo said of the Bulldogs, who won the D-II title in 2018. “I am still more worried about us than I am our opponent, although it’s hard to scout any of these guys now with the number of new people they have.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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