Michigan State wants better starts. Ohio State is looking for another marquee win. Both are striving for consistency.
Those are the objectives when the No. 15 Spartans (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) host the Buckeyes (17-9, 9-6) on Sunday afternoon in East Lansing, Mich.
A comparison of recent results shows the Spartans lost 92-71 at Wisconsin on Feb. 13, but four days later Ohio State drilled the visiting Badgers 86-69.
Michigan State coach Tom Izzo has been around long enough to know the ebbs and flows of a season, so he understands there can be clunkers along the way. What he is building toward is stacking quality games leading into the postseason.
The Spartans had lost three of four and had a streak of five straight games in which they trailed at the half before they rolled to an 82-59 win over visiting UCLA on Tuesday.
“It is important we get off to a good start, but I’d much rather get off to a good finish,” Izzo said. “And that’s what I kept telling my guys, we just got to keep working through it.
“Hopefully this will be the teaching thing. … That’s the name of the game now in this stretch run, you’ve got to win games but you’ve got to get better each game.”
Ohio State hopes to ride momentum from the win over No. 24 Wisconsin, its first in seven tries against a ranked opponent. The Buckeyes sit 38th in the NET rankings and are considered on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament unless they would earn the automatic qualifier by winning the conference tourney. They are 0-8 in Quad 1 games.
Inconsistency from players other than standout guard Bruce Thornton has plagued the Buckeyes, and Devin Royal is the most recent example.
He made 2 of 12 field-goal attempts and scored four points in a 70-66 loss to Virginia on Feb. 14. Royal quickly went about making amends, heading straight to the practice facility after the team returned from the game in Nashville. Coaches like to say nothing good happens after midnight, but Royal was the exception.
“I was in the gym right after the game, a thousand shots, 4 a.m., because I was terrible,” he said.
Against the Badgers, he hit his first six shots, and 14 of his season-high 25 points came in the first 7:11 of the game.
“I had to go in the gym and work it off,” Royal said. “I feel like you can work off a bad game, and that’s what I did. I came out and had a good game.”
Royal showed he is capable of providing support for Thornton, who is six points from tying Herb Williams (2,011 points from 1977-81) for second all-time on the Ohio State list. Dennis Hopson is first with 2,096 from 1983-87.
Michigan State counters with guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who this week was named one of 30 players to the Naismith Trophy Men’s College Player of the Year Late-Season Team.
It was good timing because he had career-high four 3-pointers while scoring 16 points vs. UCLA.
“I thought Jeremy might’ve played one of his best games,” Izzo said. “The reason is he seemed so under control. He didn’t take bad shots. He made good shots.
“He’s just got to run our team a little bit. That’s the only thing I’m asking of him more.”
