Michigan State basketball's three magic words weave a spell on Baylor once again

Tom Izzo says three words so much they somehow should be weaved into the Michigan State fight song.

On the banks of the Red Cedar/there’s a school that’s known to all.

Their specialty is defend/and rebound and run the ball.

OK, so those lyrics might need some workshopping, just like Izzo thought his team did through the first 10 days of December.

The problems that plagued the Spartans in back-to-back Big Ten losses last week to Wisconsin and Nebraska were the same ones that proved their undoing in losses to Duke and Arizona last month.

A sub-.500 record through nine games made it clear: The three cardinal tenets of Izzo’s program — defend, rebound and run— were not happening enough to win close games.

SATURDAY'S GAME: Tyson Walker pours in 25 points, Michigan State basketball bullies Baylor

“That's what coach talks about every single time. Whether it's pregame or practice, every time, ‘We gotta defend and rebound,’” senior forward Mady Sissoko said Saturday. “Because we feel like if we rebound and defend, our fastbreak is very good. We have very good point guards who can push the ball very well.”

For the first time this season, and perhaps for many years, Izzo’s players put together a virtuoso performance in all three of those phases worthy of his praise. And did so to obliterate a top-10 opponent.

The final numbers in an 88-64 shredding of No. 6 Baylor told only a part of the story about MSU’s dominance Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena. It was a game in which the Spartans (5-5) never trailed, led by as many as 30 points and delivered Izzo’s staples in abundance.

“We did something we haven't been doing,” Izzo said. “We gotta get back to who we are. … For 29 years, we've defended, rebounded and ran. And that's what you gotta do.”

Defense

Everything in Izzo’s system begins with that first word of his triad. And it did not take long for the Spartans to assert themselves against the Bears (9-1), who entered as the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense, averaging 91.1 points per game.

After Baylor won the tipoff, MSU’s guards cut off dribble-drive lanes and shuffled quickly laterally to the ball around the perimeter as their post players prevented entry passes and flashed high to disrupt looks on ball screens. The Bears committed a shot-clock violation. That led, at the other end, to a 3-pointer from Tyson Walker, who went 4-for-4 from deep and scored 18 of his game-high 25 in the opening half.

“It did a lot for us,” said A.J. Hoggard, who had 14 points and four assists. “The place erupted early, in the first 30 seconds of the game. Tyson was Tyson the first three possessions of the game. And we were rolling.

“We were having fun. We got back to having fun. That was the biggest part of us coming out here and making a statement, just getting back to having fun.”

But it was Baylor’s next possession in which the Spartans set the tone for what would follow.

Bears guard RayJ Dennis, a Toledo transfer, drove down the left side of the lane. Hoggard followed on his hip and swiped the ball as Dennis attempted to get to the rim, then took off to get MSU into transition.

The senior dished to Jaden Akins in the corner, but the sophomore missed a 3-pointer. But the floor spacing opened up the middle and allowed Sissoko to get the offensive rebound and put the ball back in for a 5-0 Spartans lead less than a minute and a half into the game.

“In the past few games, we got off to a slow, slow start,” sophomore guard Tre Holloman, who had 11 points, two rebounds and two steals. “So we just wanted to start out fast. We wanted just to bust them in the mouth.”

Hoggard’s was the first of three steals for him and the first of 15 for the Spartans, including five from Walker. It was the program’s most steals in a game in more than a decade, since getting 16 against Wisconsin on March 7, 2013.

“I think defensively, watching film on them, they were a lot crisper on the rotations tonight,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, who called three timeouts before halftime to try and curtail MSU’s surges. “They were in gaps, but then they didn't give up (easy baskets), they didn't over-help. I thought they were a lot more disciplined and fundamentally sound. I mean, they were really, really good in the first half. I mean, 21 turnovers for the game, they deserve a lot of that credit.

“We were the (fourth-best scoring offense) in the country coming in, so it wasn't like we didn't know what we're doing. But they made us look really bad.”

MSU also scored 29 points off 21 Baylor turnovers, the most forced by Izzo’s defense since getting 22 against Eastern Michigan on Nov. 20, 2021.

“We were just guarding, trying to win on matchups defensively,” said Walker, who added four assists. “We started on defense, and the offense helped it.”

Rebounding

After combining for just two points and three rebounds in last Sunday’s 77-70 loss at Nebraska, Izzo called out his post players in the postgame press conference and demanded more.

“That's why they were on the trading block,” Izzo joked Saturday. “But (they are) great kids, and we gotta do a better job — I gotta do a better job — of putting them in position to be successful. And maybe changing up some things did that.”

Against Baylor, Sissoko and sophomore Carson Cooper provided a tremendous boost at both ends of the court. The post duo combined Saturday for 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting and two blocked shots. Izzo also singled out Sissoko’s defensive job in handling the Bears’ high ball screens.

But they also provided an impact on the glass, starting with Sissoko’s second-possession putback. He finished with a game-high eight rebounds and Cooper added four as MSU outrebounded Baylor, 29-20, overall.

“Personally, I haven't done a very good job of rebounding and stuff like that,” Sissoko said. “But we should take positive away from this game and start moving forward.”

MSU grabbed eight offensive boards and limited a Baylor team that came in averaging more than 13 on the offensive glass to just six. The Spartans had a 15-6 edge in second-chance scoring with those offensive caroms, and they punished the Bears in scoring in the paint, 42-28.

“We got them more to the offensive boards, and they did come through,” Izzo said. “But we drove the ball more. It's something we've been telling A.J. — when you drive the ball, the other team's centers have to help out, and that frees up your center.”

MSU’s guards also crashed the glass hard. Jaden Akins, despite continued offensive struggles, grabbed four rebounds. Walker had three, and Hoggard and Holloman each grabbed two.

Holloman felt the improved rebounding piece was the most important thing that happened for the Spartans in the game.

“Because once we rebound,” he said, “we get out and run.”

Running

The Spartans’ transition game was at its peak, both off missed shots and forced turnovers.

Hoggard pushed the pace. Walker delivered a pinpoint outlet pass to Coen for a breakaway windmill dunk late in the first half. And as MSU pushed the pace and wore down Baylor, there were more highlight reel plays to be had.

An alley-oop from Hoggard to Akins in the second half, and another from the senior point guard to Walker in transition. Cooper and Carr each had one alley-oop dunk in the firs thalf as well.

The Spartans had a 21-17 advantage in fast-break points and got 18 assists on 31 baskets. They never led by less than 20 after halftime; all 10 rotation regulars scored and nine of them grabbed at least one rebound.

“Everybody got into it. Why? Because we were running. Why were we running? Because we defended and then we rebounded,” Izzo said. “I mean, it's really kind of simple — but difficult to sometimes do.”

For Hoggard, it was an example of just how good a team MSU can be when everyone is operating at peak performance. And a reminder of what needs to be done at home to maintain that, with a quick visit form Oakland on the horizon Monday (7 p.m.,Big Ten Network).

“The games that we dropped this year or the things that we haven't done as well this year, we did before,” Hoggard said. “We had to get back to being us, and I think we did a good job of getting back to being us tonight.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball knows the magic words: Run, defend, rebound