Over the last three games, MSU has given up 108 points on three-pointers compared to 18 points off its own three-pointers.

“There’s definitely a deficiency between what teams are scoring against us and what we’re scoring against them,” said MSU head coach Tom Izzo of the No. 5 Spartans’ three-point troubles. “We’ve got to be able to check better than we check right now.”

The Spartans don’t play again until Sunday against No. 25 Iowa, which gives MSU a whole week of practice to focus on their deficiencies.

The Spartans will have Wednesday off and Izzo said he won’t begin to plan for the Hawkeyes until Thursday.

Izzo said he plans to spend most of the week working on defense.

“This will be a big week for us,” he said. “We’ve got to make some strides if we’re going to make a run.”

Senior guard Charlie Bell said the full week of practice will allow players to relax and focus without having to worry about a weekday game.

He said MSU looks good offensively, but said that won’t help the Spartans reclaim any championships.

“If we get guys in the right position to score, nobody can stop us. But that’s really not the key to us winning,” he said. “The key is on the defensive end.

“Teams are going to come out and play their hearts out against us. We just have to be ready for it.”

Back to bed

Senior forward Andre Hutson’s battle with pneumonia continues.

“At (Sunday’s) meeting he was coughing so hard I just declared him ineligible for three days,” Izzo said. “I didn’t defer to a doctor, a trainer or anybody else this time. I’m deferring to myself.”

Since returning to action against Northwestern on Jan. 24, Hutson is averaging 12.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game. He also is shooting a blistering 65.9 percent from the field.

Izzo said Hutson will shoot around separate from the team until Thursday, when he’ll return to normal practices.