Michigan State's Marcus Bingham, struggling since COVID, needs to return to form, and soon

EAST LANSING — The final moments Saturday between Michigan State basketball and Northwestern capped off one of the toughest games of Marcus Bingham Jr.’s career.

The senior center, who had returned to the court as the target for a last-gasp inbounds play after being benched for nearly all of the game's final minutes, missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw with 0.7 seconds left to seal the Spartans’ 64-62 loss.

It was the only second Bingham played in the game's final 5:36 – benched in favor of Joey Hauser at the center spot.

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“I wasn’t really thinking about how cold I was or how I felt. I just really wanted to make the shots to send us into overtime," said Bingham, who finished with two points, two rebounds and two blocks in 12 minutes. "I put my head down at the free-throw line, (and my teammates) did a good job of telling me I’m gonna be all right. Hearing that from them was good for me.”

But as the Spartans look toward Friday night's game at Wisconsin (9 p.m., FS1), they are looking for more from Bingham, whose numbers have tailed off since testing positive for COVID-19 in late December. There's certainly some evidence Bingham might still be suffering some aftereffects from the illness.

Bingham scored 17 points — his second-highest output of the season — in a win over Oakland on Dec. 21, lifting his season averages at that point to 10.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Bingham then missed the High Point game on Dec. 29 due to COVID. In the four games since, Bingham is averaging 6.3 points and 4.3 rebounds and he hasn't had near the same impact defensively as earlier in the season.

“I feel like COVID did mess me up a little bit," Bingham said. "But as an upperclassman, I’ve got to overcome that and be better for this team going forward."

After Saturday’s loss, Bingham went on a self-imposed Twitter blackout, ending a tweet with, “See y’all in April.”

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Izzo said he met with Bingham on Monday to try and figure out how they can get him back to his early-season form.

“I did not have a birthday party, but at the same time we did (talk) about the differences since he’s had COVID and when he hasn't,” Izzo said. “He just doesn’t seem to have his energy back. That was one thing we all agreed on, including him. I give him the benefit of the doubt on that to a certain extent."

Regardless of the reasons for the decline, Izzo wants more from his 7-foot, 230-pound big man.

"I’m not blaming all that on Marcus, but he has been a different player in the last 5-6 games," Izzo said. "Baylor, UConn, Loyola, Kansas, he held his own and did his job. He has not been doing that lately.

“There’s got to be a come-to-Jesus meeting that he understands that walking around isn’t going to make it here. I don’t care if he’s 12-foot tall. He’s got to learn to go to a different level, post up to a different level.”

Bingham's struggles were the reason why Hauser, although undersized, played the 5-spot down the stretch Saturday. He was beaten for a layup by Ryan Young and twice fouled Young, which led to three additional points off free throws.

“It’s a tough position,” Hauser said. “There are some situations where it helps us because the team’s got to guard us, too, but in that situation, it didn’t go in our favor. It’s something I’ve got to keep working on.”

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Bingham is also trying to adjust to teams guarding him differently in recent games. Defenders are sagging at the top of the key and taking away the baseline to prevent his jump hook.

“I’m just working out every morning, watching the film, learning from that,” Bingham said. “With our (graduate assistants), they do a good job showing what an opponent is going to do to us in the game. Working on that every morning and sticking to my routine is gonna be good.”

Perhaps lost in the shadow of Saturday's loss was, arguably, Julius Marble II’s best performance in a Spartan uniform. Marble took advantage of additional playing time due to Bingham's struggles, making all seven of his shots from the field and all four of his free throws to finish with a career-high 18 points, while adding four rebounds and a block.

Still, it doesn’t appear Izzo is ready to make a change in the starting lineup.

“Julius has to get himself in better shape,” Izzo said. “I don’t plan on changing a lot as far as the lineup. I plan on changing a lot as far as the effort given. And that’s where I’m at right now. If that doesn’t work, I might change more. Whatever I do is going to be for the betterment of the program, not the individual.”

Contact digital sports reporter Phil Friend at 517-377-1220 or pfriend@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Phil_Friend.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State's Marcus Bingham aims to return to pre-COVID form