NCAA Basketball: Top 16 breakdown, belief in Maryland, and more weekly takeaways

3) Michigan State has major offensive problems

Now to a Big Ten team moving in the wrong direction. Michigan State dropped their third game in a row on Saturday, this one coming against in-state rival Michigan. The Wolverines controlled the game for most of the afternoon, answering every run the Spartans threw at them.

That inability to get over the hump was something that irritated Tom Izzo, which he spoke about after the game.

"“We’ve been in every game but one and yet, we get close like that, cut big leads … it’s almost like we go brain dead then, and that’s got to change.”"

I think the reason for those struggles they’ve run in to has been a lack of legitimate offensive options, which shows itself when the score gets close.

We all know how good Cassius Winston is yet, outside of him, the Spartans lack a consistent secondary scorer. Xavier Tillman, Aaron Henry, and Gabe Brown have all proven they can be that guy, but they do so on an inconsistent basis.

For instance, Tillman had a quality game against the Wolverines with 17 points and 12 rebounds. But, in Michigan State’s two losses leading into the game, he only had 16 points combined. Brown didn’t score a single point for the second time in three games.

When those guys play well – which normally happens at home – Michigan State looks like a team that can make a run in March. But, when they don’t – which has happened a decent amount given their collective inconsistency – the Spartans look average.