College basketball: Michigan State vs. Northwestern
Michigan State guard Gary Harris (14) shoots a layup in the first half of their Big Ten game against the Northwestern Wildcats at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. on Thursday, February 13, 2014. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
EAST LANSING -- Michigan State's Gary Harris had a plan for making sure his Madison misfortune did not repeat itself.
Rather than continuing to loft the same long-range jumpers that led to a 3-for-20 shooting performance in the Spartans' loss to Wisconsin this past Sunday, Harris devised a plan to start simple and go from there during Thursday's win over Northwestern.
Three minutes in, the plan commenced. Harris thought momentarily about a 3-point attempt on the left wing, but instead brought it in to 8 feet and drained the short jumper.
Nice and easy.
Michigan State guard Gary Harris (14) shoots a 3-pointer in the second half of their Big Ten game against the Northwestern Wildcats at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. on Thursday, February 13, 2014. Michigan State won the game, 85-70. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)
A couple minutes later, Harris glanced at another 3-point attempt before driving right to the basket and getting fouled. Then, just after a timeout, he drove again -- this time converting the layup to give Michigan State an 11-7 lead over the Wildcats.
Harris would have two easy buckets and an assist before attempting his first 3. When he did, it went in. The perfect plan for a struggling man.
"I just wanted to do whatever I could to not force any shots," Harris said after Michigan State's 85-70 victory. "They happened to come in close so that definitely got me going to see a few go down early."
Harris didn't totally overcome his struggles, but it was a start. Once the sophomore guard got into foul trouble, his shots were scattered. He didn't play the final 6:30 minutes of the first half and didn't attempt another shot until three minutes into the second half.
Harris finished the game 6-of-13 for 14 points and shot 2-of-4 from 3-point range.
That's not spectacular. That's average, if you're Gary Harris. And coach Tom Izzo agreed following Michigan State's win over Northwestern that the frustration is still there.
"There's no question (it is)," Izzo said. "No question. He's going to have to learn how to deal with the pressure.
"It's hard. He had 13 shots. He had some open ones and he made a few. But he's not playing like we're used to seeing him play. I think that there's no question that he's pressing."
The word 'pressure' has come up a lot lately whenever Izzo speaks of Harris. But it's something Harris is shrugging off.
"I wasn't worried about getting out of that (slump) anyways," Harris said. "I was just concentrating on doing whatever I could to win the game. I have a short memory with nights like those so I was going to come out here and play regardless."
-- Download the MSU football MLive app for iPhone and Android
-- Download the MSU basketball on MLive app for iPhone and Android
-- Follow Gillian Van Stratt on Twitter