No answers here
Just when it looked like Michigan State was starting to figure things out...
MSU talked a lot about its blown layups after this game, and there definitely were a few, but I think JaJuan Johnson deserves some credit for altering some of those. I mean, he blocked seven shots. Johnson did a better job inside than the first time around, when MSU actually had an offense, got 37 points from Green and Roe and fell 86-76.
I thought the Spartans' defense was fine in this game. Consider that Purdue shot 43.6 percent -- and that includes several dunks/layups in transition off turnovers or missed shots. It's MSU's offense that is a disaster right now, because Keith Appling has no confidence, Austin Thornton has no confidence, Draymond Green is out of rhythm, Kalin Lucas has to do everything, and Durrell Summers is now 13 of 50 in his past seven games, all of which have seen him finish in single digits.
After the game, Summers said MSU is running fewer plays for him, and that "I never would have imagined that, but I've got to roll with it."
Think back to the beginning of the season. MSU probably ran at least two-thirds of its sets for Summers. The way he's playing, I don't see how you can justify going to him anywhere near that much anymore. But Summers clearly is frustrated with the situation right now, and perhaps sick of taking all the flack for his struggles.
“We’ve tried to fix the defense, we’ve tried to fix the offense, (and) the energy,” Summers said. “Maybe it’s something else. It’s not my place to say certain things. We’ve tried to fix everything with us.”
There's an eyebrow raiser. Up next: Iowa and senior day. After picking this team to lose at Minnesota and beat Purdue, I'm just going to throw up my hands and admit that I have no idea what to expect for the rest of this season. If you think you do, please share.
