Is Marcus Bingham Jr. the secret weapon for Tom Izzo and Michigan State Basketball?

Michigan State is about to go up against one of the best big men in the country in Hunter Dickinson. Is Marcus Bingham Jr. the answer?

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You might not know this, but Marcus Bingham Jr. has the best defensive rating on the Michigan State team. In fact, he has led the team in defensive rating every season since he joined the Spartans.

Now, part of that is because of the minutes (or lack thereof) he has played. Bingham is No. 10 on the team in that particular category, only playing more than Julius Marble and Mady Sissoko among regular contributors. He has only started 5 games this season.

Despite the lack of minutes, the team is clearly better with Bingham is on the floor. He is the tallest and lengthiest player on the team, and despite lacking in muscle and strength, he is easily Michigan State’s best rim protector.

This makes you wonder if, with more minutes, he could be the secret weapon for Tom Izzo and the Spartans in this late-season run, first against No. 2 Michigan and then in the Big Ten Tournament. Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson is a 7’2″, dominant center, and Marcus Bingham Jr. might be the only player on the team capable of hanging with his size.

He was a huge factor in Michigan State’s win over Indiana, bothering Trayce Jackson-Davis with his length and recording 3 blocks on the night. Against Illinois, he made one of the best plays of the game against Kofi Cockburn, blocking Illinois’ star big man in a play that helped cement the win in the second half.

The numbers back up Bingham’s impact too. Below, host of Locked on Spartans Wil Hunter and MSU fan Anthony Garvert point out some data that supports what our eyes can see: Michigan State is better when Bingham is on the floor.

Michigan State is 12-4 when Bingham plays more than 10 minutes. They are 2-6 when he doesn’t. They also have a startlingly better net rating when Bingham is on the floor, as pointed out by Wil. Part of that comes down to foul trouble and limiting dumb mistakes, but at some point, you wonder if Izzo might be better off riding it out with someone who, on paper, is the best big on your team.

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The Spartans play No. 2 Michigan at 7pm ET on Thursday night. It will be interesting to see if Izzo uses Bingham against Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson. Bingham might be Izzo’s only hope to contain the 7’2″ star.

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