Why MSU's Tightened Rotation at Purdue Proved Pivotal

Izzo still has three more regular season games to think over his rotation, but be prepared: this might be what MSU looks like if/when it plays a tightly contested second round game in the NCAA Tournament or against a 1 or 2 seed in the Sweet 16.

This was the type of game where a coach wants his best lineups out there for as long as possible. The stakes were high for both Michigan State's Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament seeding, and Izzo seemed to let worry of fatigue fall to the wayside a little bit. Denham Wojcik saw the least amount of action among those who did play, at exactly 4 minutes and 2 seconds. The other seven players played at least 19 minutes and 53 seconds, with Jeremy Fears Jr. leading the team at 35 minutes and 58 seconds.

The Fort/Wojcik Issue

Here's the questionable part about Izzo's preview of his March Madness preview: Fort didn't play, but Wojcik did.

The non-Fears minutes are going to be an issue no matter who Izzo puts out there, but the problems with Wojcik really cannot be ignored anymore. He was minus-6 in his limited action against Purdue on Thursday, with MSU being out-scored 13-7 while he was on the court.

It's nothing personal against Wojcik at all, but he looks like an Ivy League bench contributor being thrust into Big Ten action often. He's made four field goals in 137 minutes this season, with there being times while he's out there where it looks like the last thing he wants to do is shoot it.

On the other end, teams have seemed to figure out that Wojcik struggles to work his way through screens, which Purdue exploited on Thursday, causing Michigan State to be scrambling on defense often. The Boilermakers' 13 points in the 4:02 Wojcik was on the court stretches out to a 129-point pace over 40 minutes.

Fort hasn't played point guard for the Spartans, but it feels appropriate to think that he might deserve a look. Some may want Jordan Scott to get a look, too, but he's already had to move from the three to the two this season and is probably a 30-minute player from here on out.

At the very least, it would bring an offensive threat and a shooter onto the court. Fort's defense has been a weakness, but it would probably be better than what Wojcik's has been lately. Again, the ask is only to keep Michigan State above water for a minute or two while Fears gets a breather. It's something small enough, but important enough, to be worth toying with a bit before it's tournament time.