CHICAGO - Despite MSU’s lack of floor leadership in its 65-63 loss to Penn State Friday, there looks to be no changing of the guards for the squad’s upcoming first round game in the NCAA Tournament.
Seniors Charlie Bell and David Thomas and freshman Marcus Taylor - logging the most minutes out of all Spartan guards in the game - combined for nine points off 3-of-10 shooting from the field in the defeat, dishing out seven assists and committing six turnovers.
Both Bell and Thomas fouled out with less than three minutes to go in regulation.
Head coach Tom Izzo, who took part of the blame in the loss, said preparation might be to blame for the backcourt’s disappointing play.
“You have to look at me on this, either we didn’t do a good job coaching our guards or they didn’t do a good job talking to each other,” said a distraught Izzo in the post-game press conference. “Blame me first, blame them second. We didn’t do a good job attacking and we looked completely disorganized.”
Much of the Spartans’ early success in the first half - which saw them lead the Nittany Lions by as much as 12 points - came from Mike Chappell. The reserve guard found open seams in the defense for aggressive drives and connected on a three-pointer to score seven points in eight minutes of play.
Despite Bell, Thomas and Taylor’s struggles on the offense end in the first half, the trio helped contain Penn State’s Joe Crispin to three points, trapping and forcing the All-Big Ten guard to attempt only five shots.
Taylor said MSU’s guards - who have excelled in many fast-paced games this season - had a hard time playing at a slower tempo.
“We all had a hard time running our half-court offense,” Taylor said. “Penn State’s matchup zone defense really caused us problems and made it hard to run our plays.”
Crispin, who responded valiantly, scoring 19 points after the break, said he had to play harder against MSU’s guard to find better shot attempts.
“In the first half I concentrated on distributing the ball and tried to not be as aggressive,” Crispin said. “In the second half I did look to be a little more aggressive offensively and I was able to get open a lot more.”
Out of Crispin’s three three-pointers after his first-half struggles, none was more important than his shot-clock-buzzer-beater over Bell with 21.9 seconds left in regulation.
“Tonight he was just making shots at the end,” said Bell of the long range Crispin bomb that put the Nittany Lions up four, 63-59. “He just kept shooting and he started to make a couple when it really counted. I have to give him all the credit in the world, he’s a great player.”
With MSU’s first-round NCAA Tournament game just around the corner, Thomas said the Spartans, especially the team’s guards, must be prepared for the intensity of the postseason.
“One more loss and our season’s over, so that sense of urgency has got to be there,” said Thomas in the locker room after the game. “If not, then we can be knocked out early, especially if we play like we did tonight. We’ve got to work hard in the next week and try to make that run.”
