Tom Izzo’s group has been on a slide lately. However, Izzo is not backing down from the potential his Spartans have to put together a run down the stretch.

During Monday’s press conference, Izzo reiterated his belief that Michigan State’s current squad is still “a good team.” Izzo particularly likes his team’s defensive effort of late and thinks a lot of the recent losses have come down to shooting.

If certain players start shooting better, Izzo believes his team “can put a run of games together.” He also urged people not to think that the Spartans are “desolate and down and out.”

Michigan State had a chance in Saturday’s game against Rutgers but fell apart at key moments of the second half. The Spartans are just 2-5 in their last 7 games to fall to 6-6 in league play.

While things have been rough for Michigan State, the rest of the schedule does shape up well. We’ll see if the Spartans can live up to Izzo’s prediction heading toward postseason play.