On Tuesday, Michigan State played dominant basketball in its 92–69 victory over Toledo. The Spartans were faster. They were stronger. They were better. They were everything Toledo wasn’t. But that doesn’t mean they were perfect.

You could see the dominance from the jump, and it started with speed. While Toledo and its offense played slow and methodical, Michigan State played fast and aggressive, pushing the ball to the basket and taking advantage of a smaller Rockets backcourt. Sophomore guard Jeremy Fears led the up-tempo offense, accelerating down the court, driving to the basket, drawing fouls and finding the open man. It was a typical Fears night: He finished 4-for-11 shooting with 15 points and eight assists.

The dominance continued with the Spartans' usual strength and physicality. Whether in the post or on the perimeter, Michigan State showcased a bruising frontcourt and a smothering backcourt. It was a style Toledo could not match, led by senior center Jaxon Kohler, who put bodies on defenders and rebounders and finished 7-for-13 with 16 points and 13 rebounds.

That speed and physicality translated into dominance. The Spartans out-rebounded the Rockets 54–24, outscored them 36–16 on fast-break points, outscored them 40–16 in the paint and shot 15 percentage points better from the field. Michigan State did all the big things right to earn the result.

Michigan State was supposed to dominate Toledo, just as it is expected to dominate Oakland next week and Cornell the week after. It is expected to dominate the majority of the teams it faces. With high expectations, dominance is not an unfair ask — and neither is playing with a low margin of error.

Tonight against Toledo, and over the past few games, MSU played with a high margin of error. It failed to finish layups and it turned the ball over more than it should have. MSU did all the small things wrong to keep it from looking its best. 

"Every mother will say, 'coach, we’re up 30 and you’re never satisfied'. They’re right. I’m not satisfied," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. "I don’t need to win games, I need to win games and improve. And if you’re not improving and winning games, then eventually it’s gonna catch up to you. So you can’t be satisfied."

It starts with the simplest shot in all of basketball: the layup. It’s so basic that MSU seems to overcomplicate it. Over the past three games, MSU has made just 26 of 55 layup attempts—5 of 15 against Duke, 6 of 18 against Penn State, and 15 of 22 against Toledo.

The issue of missed layups is a problem that’s keeping MSU from being its best. Against Duke, the failure to finish below the basket lost MSU the game. Against Penn State, the failure to do the same made the game tighter than it ever should have been. Tonight against Toledo, this failure held MSU from playing its best basketball. 

If such an issue persists, it’ll be a reason that MSU fails to beat strong teams.