Tom Izzo turns to towels to teach defense and trim fouling

Practices for the Michigan State men’s basketball team might be the one place in the sports world where Terrible Towels are not associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Coach Tom Izzo proved true to his word Monday afternoon when he made his players practice defense while holding towels either behind their backs or above their heads in an effort to cut down on the number of fouls being whistled on the Spartans this season.

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Michigan State lost to a struggling Wisconsin team on Sunday, in part, because the Spartans sent the Badgers to the free throw line for 36 free throws. Wisconsin made 29 of them. It’s a difficult number to swallow for Izzo  considering the game was decided by one point.

Izzo acknowledged his team hasn’t adjusted to rules changes this season designed to increase scoring and provide more freedom of movement to players on offense.Reaching for the ball and putting hands on opponents has been an old habit the Spartans haven’t been able to kick.

In four of its first six Big Ten games, Michigan State has shot at least 10 fewer free throws than its opponent. The Spartans are committing 19.7 fouls per game, which ranked 290th in this week’s NCAA statistics.

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Mlive.com reported players had to use the towels in individual drills and during halfcourt defense. The tactic is meant to encourage players to move their feet more on defense, help one another and to stop putting their hands on opponents.

“It makes you realize how much you need to use your feet on defense,” freshman Matt McQuaid, who was whistled for four fouls against the Badgers, told Mlive.com. 

The Spartans have lost three times this season, including twice to Iowa. The Hawkeyes got to the foul line for 31 free throws in the first meeting, but 12 of those free throws came in the final minutes when the Spartans were trying to extend the game. Michigan State improved in that area the second time around, giving the Hawkeyes just 16 free throws.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo