Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo discussed Senior Day after practice Thursday evening. MSU will celebrate its potentially departing seniors against Ohio State Saturday afternoon. The game is MSU’s last of the regular season. After this, it’s onto the tournaments.
The Spartans easily beat OSU in their prior matchup in Columbus back on Feb. 12, securing a 62-41 victory. However, Ohio State is playing better ball this time around, leaning into Michigan State's peculiar knack of running into opponents in the midst of a hot streak. The Buckeyes have won two straight, notching wins over Illinois and No. 21 Maryland.
“We’ve played more teams with four and five game winning streaks than anybody in America,” Izzo said.
Just last Tuesday, MSU took on Nebraska after the Cornhuskers had rattled off four straight wins.
Michigan State enters its final game of the regular-season with a 2-2 record in its last four games. But on the bright side, the offense is finally clicking. Senior guard Tyson Walker is leading that charge, averaging over 20 points per game in that stretch. Junior guard A.J. Hoggard has, for the most part, also been a part of that improved offensive showing. He’s distributing the ball well, averaging over eight assists per game in the last four.
“Early in the year, the ball seemed to be sticking,” Izzo said. “The ball movement has really changed, and it’s moving well.”
For Michigan State, the improvement of senior forward Malik Hall is another important piece of the puzzle heading into March. In a season altered by injury, Hall has finally started to play with some consistency now that he's been healthy for a stretch. Coming off the bench, he’s averaging over 10 points per game in the last four.
“He’s every bit as strong as any one of those other five guys,” Izzo said. “He is starting to play better, he’s starting to practice better. It was only a couple weeks ago that he started practicing every day.”
Hall is just one of multiple seniors that could wrap up their time in East Lansing against Ohio State this Saturday. It’s hard to argue that any other graduating class has had a stranger four years than this year's group, thanks in large part to the seasons altered by COVID-19.
“Nobody got to practice, nobody got to workout,” Izzo said. “You lose a lot— guys that need to get better, guys that are gym rats like Hauser, like Rocket, like Malik. And all of a sudden, they don’t get to do the same things. It stunts your growth, stunts your development.”
Thanks to that year affected by the pandemic, MSU’s seniors could even come back for another run. Hall and Walker could both technically come back next season with the extra year of eligibility. Even fifth-year senior forward Joey Hauser could hypothetically stay for one more year thanks to an ankle injury that forced him to miss his redshirt season.
None of the aforementioned players have made a final decision yet, though.
