Young Spartans struggle to Locate their road footing

 It’s fair to say most college basketball teams play with a little more confidence at home than they do on the road.

And when you’re relying on plenty of inexperience, as Michigan State is this season, hitting the road in the Big Ten is no easy task. Despite pulling out an overtime victory at Minnesota in the
conference opener, the Spartans have had their struggles away from home this season, turning in two fairly uneven performances in losses to Penn State at the Palestra in Philadelphia and last weekend at Ohio State.

Michigan State will get another shot to prove it can play well away from home when it travels to Assembly Hall at 4 p.m. Saturday to take on Indiana. The Spartans (12-7, 4-2 Big Ten) will need to do so to keep pace in the Big Ten with back-to-back home games coming next week.

“Our team is still in process right now. We are still forming who we are and what we are and trying to figure that out,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “We are getting a better idea, but when we go on the road we have not been as sharp on the road. The other team in our league that is probably playing more than a few freshmen is Iowa and they beat Purdue at home and then lost by 40 at Northwestern. Those are the things we are trying to minimize and deal with.”

While playing four freshmen extensive minutes is new territory for Izzo, it’s the reality of this season for Michigan State. The upperclassmen have yet to provide a steady hand, meaning the youngsters are counted on heavily.

All four freshmen have started together once and could again against the Hoosiers, but getting them all on the same page will be the key. It’s just tougher to do on the road when you haven’t done it often.

“It’s been tough at times,” freshman guard Cassius Winston said. “But we’ve got a lot of good players and seniors. The older guys that have been through it are helping us through it, guiding us through those moments because every road game is gonna be a tough game no matter who you’re playing. The arena will be packed, a lot of people will be there wanting us to lose. It’s them against us so it’s always gonna be tough no matter the team, no matter their record.