After being picked No. 1 in most Big Ten preseason polls, to say Michigan State has disappointed would be an understatement.
Even with the Spartans’ 61-54 home win over No. 19 Indiana on Tuesday, the squad’s 11-8 record still marks their worst start in 15 years. The 1987-88 Spartans finished 10-18 and eighth in the conference.
“We’ve been struggling mainly because of the play of Adam Ballinger,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “Our offense really depended on him, from setting picks to popping outside for shots. He’s been struggling.”
Ballinger, a 6-foot-9 forward, recorded just 5 points in Tuesday’s victory over the Hoosiers.
Last season Ballinger was a third-team All-Big Ten selection after averaging 11.9 points and 6.8 rebounds. But this year the senior has averaged 6.2 points on 41 percent shooting and 3.6 rebounds.
“We’ll have to try to look for something else,” Izzo said.
Izzo’s struggling squad, which has fallen No. 9 in the Nov. 25 AP poll, has little to look forward to in the near future.
Michigan State heads into its match-up with the Big Ten’s highest ranked team, No. 13 Illinois, having lost six of its past nine games.
“When you start losing it gets compounded by all the media attention,” Izzo said. “It’s hard to handle, especially for younger guys.”
With eight losses, Michigan State is in danger of reaching double-digits in the loss column for only the second time in the past six seasons.
BOTTOM OF THE FOOD CHAIN: Both Penn State and Northwestern have begun conference play 0-5 and have extended Big Ten losing streaks dating back to last season. The Nittany Lions have dropped nine in a row, while the Wildcats are in the midst of an eight-game conference skid.
The two teams have struggled in two important areas — defense and finding a consistent scorer.
“It’s just about maturity and toughness,” Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. “Those are keys to one of those things you have to have, consistent defense.”
The last-place duo has a firm hold on the bottom two spots in Big Ten scoring defense. The 10th-ranked Nittany Lions have allowed 74.2 points per contest — 5.2 points worse than ninth-ranked Iowa — and NU has given up 74.4 points per game.
Also, both teams have struggled to find a reliable go-to guy.
Nittany Lions guard Sharif Chambliss has averaged 14.5 points to lead the team, but in Penn State’s 75-63 loss to Illinois on Saturday the junior connected on 3 of 16 attempts.
NU guard Jitim Young entered the Cats’ 74-57 loss to Minnesota averaging 15 points in Big Ten play, but he went 1-for-8 and notched four points.
“It’s tough to win in this league unless you have guys that can consistently step up,” Dunn said. “You have to be able to count on some guys night in and night out.”
Penn State hosts Minnesota tonight while NU travels to face Wisconsin.
Keady Closes In: With Purdue’s 69-47 win against then-No. 14 Indiana on Saturday, Boilermaker coach Gene Keady collected his 249th Big Ten victory.
Keady tries for No. 250 tonight as the Purdue host Ohio State. With a defeat of the Buckeyes, Keady would become the second Big Ten coach to reach the milestone — former Indiana coach Bob Knight totaled 353 wins before he was fired in 2000.
Keady is in his 23rd year at the Boilermakers’ helm and has compiled a 519-247 record at the school.
In his 22-year tenure, he has led Purdue to six Big Ten championships, the most recent coming in 1996.
