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. 

"We’re missing layups and it’s starting to bother me," Izzo said. "And you know why we have so many offensive rebounds? It’s because we’re missing about 15 layups and the ball is coming right back to us. So [rebounding] is a distorted stat for us right now."

There is also the issue of turnovers, which, like failing to finish layups, has been a problem over the past couple of games. Against Penn State, MSU turned the ball over 17 times. Tonight against Toledo, MSU turned the ball over 15 times – three times by Fears, three times by senior forward Carson Cooper, and four times by junior forward Coen Carr. 

It wasn’t good defense that forced these turnovers, but instead the costly errors by a fast-paced offense – Fears threw the ball away into the stands, Cooper got the ball stripped from his hands, Carr dribbled the ball off of his foot. It’s the self-inflicted turnovers that limit a team from being its best. Right now, because of such play, MSU is not at its best.

"We didn’t take care of the ball," Izzo said. "Our big guys are turning the ball over because they're getting [the ball] knocked out of their hands, which means they have to get tougher and stronger."

For a team as great as MSU, the margin for error is slim. There should be dominance—and near perfection. Without it, MSU may struggle against the very best. On Saturday at noon, the Spartans can minimize mistakes and continue their dominance as they travel to Detroit to play Oakland at Little Caesars Arena. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.