Izzo: ‘Their Offense Didn’t Beat Us’
Michigan scored 82 points in a 10-point win over a Michigan State team that entered as the No. 1 defensive team in the country in opponent field goal percentage. U-M shot 42.1 percent from the floor and finished with 13 assists, but MSU head coach Tom Izzo insisted it wasn’t Michigan’s offense that beat them.
MSU entered allowing teams to shoot only 34.5 percent from the floor.
“I thought we did a decent job on [Charles] Matthews (10 points, 3-of-10 shooting) and [Muhammad Ali] Abdur-Rahkman (14, 3-for-11). I didn’t think we did a very good job on [Zavier] Simpson (16 points),” he said. “I give that kid credit. He was not a very good shooter last year. He worked on his game.
“Let’s face it ... our point guards struggled today. And when the head goes, the body goes.”
It was a little bit like last year’s game that the Wolverines won by 29 at home, he continued.
“When we put our point guard and our center in a ball screen, it just wasn’t as good,” he said. “[Junior center Moritz] Wagner played good and made all his shots (actually 8 of 13); he hasn’t been doing that. He was the difference in the game. Give Simpson credit. He created.”
He scored 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, adding five assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes. His badly outplayed former U-M recruit Cassius Winston (11 points, four turnovers), rarely allowing him to turn the corner with the ball, and backup Tum Tum Nairn was also a non-factor in nine minutes.
MSU big man Nick Ward scored only four points in 14 minutes and couldn’t check Wagner, but Izzo said it wasn’t his fault.
“Their offense didn’t beat us,” he said. “... Wagner had a heck of a night, but other than that, nobody shot more than 40 percent. Two guys hurt us, and they hurt us in a similar screen and roll position. We have to get better at that or we are going to have to make some adjustments.
“Wagner played very well. He gave us some problems, so you can get the Nick controversy out of your mind. It wasn’t Nick’s fault. It was our guards. Our guards did not get over those screens, and Nick isn’t quick enough to [cut off the Michigan guard] and get back over [to Wagner].”
Simpson actually shot 5-for-9 from the floor and freshman forward Isaiah Livers 3-for-5, so three of the starters were over 50 percent.
“I think some guys have to do a better job of defending, too,” Izzo said. “You don’t get to just outscore people. You have to guard them. We made some adjustments and drove the ball more and to get to the line as much as we did against them is a big thing, and we pounded it in a little bit more, but boy we sure didn’t guard when we needed to guard.
“Listen … this is a very good team.. We got exploited by two guys today. Not many people can do that in the league. We’re better defensively than a couple of guys played.”
On the flip side, U-M missed a number of lay-ups and great looks at the rim that could have made it a bit easier. The Spartans, meanwhile, shot 46.7 percent for the game but only 36.4 percent in the second half.
MSU's postgame interviewer on the Spartan Network told Izzo he thought Michigan's wing defense did a good job pushing them out to make them start their offense in uncomfortable positions.
"I guess I’d say yes. We got pushed out a little bit at the end because we were just trying to post Miles [Bridges] up," Izzo said. "And that’s a good word by the way, ‘pushed out.’ That’s not normally legal. But pushed out is a good word, and we didn’t handle it very well."
Regardless, the Wolverines were the better team at both ends Saturday and are — at least for now — a contender in the Big Ten championship race because of it.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook