3 Observations from MSU's Dominant Win over USC

This is a game Michigan State needed, especially after an emotionally draining loss at now-No. 10 Nebraska on Friday. MSU is 13-2 overall on the year and stands solid at 3-1 during Big Ten play. The Spartans host Northwestern on Thursday and should be heavy favorites; the Wildcats are 0-3 in conference play thus far.

Here are a few things I noticed from MSU’s victory over USC, featuring a team that didn’t seem too down on itself after its last game:

Nice Scoring Night for Carr

It didn’t look like Coen Carr was going to factor too much offensively off the jump. The Trojans weren’t just sagging off him on the perimeter; they were actively encouraging him to shoot, essentially. Carr accepted the deal at first, but he missed his first handful of jump shots and then stopped taking them.

“I give Coen Carr a lot of credit,” Tom Izzo said during his opening statement postgame. “I don’t think anybody ever would realize how difficult that is. I give USC credit; they tried to do something that I understood. I think we missed three or four of the first five shots, but boy, when he just started backing them in and getting to his game, and then he hit the mid-range, and then he hit the three, it was big for Coen. He didn’t quit playing defense. He didn’t quit rebounding.”

Despite USC’s complete lack of respect for Carr’s ability to shoot, he ended up becoming the game’s leading scorer. Carr finished with 18 points, which is tied for the third-most points scored in a game for his career. He shot 6-for-14 from the field with a 4-for-6 second half. 

What helped was when Carr was running as the four. He is the starting three-man in Michigan State’s starting lineup, with Jaxon Kohler at the four and with Carson Cooper at the five. MSU’s adjustment to where Carr could get more physical and not be as much of a shooter definitely seemed to have a positive impact.

Jaxon Kohler Stays Hot

OK, if one told me that Kohler would become, statistically, one of the best three-point shooters in college basketball about two years ago, I would’ve considered them nuts. 

Well, Kohler is now, statistically, one of the best shooters from beyond the arc in college basketball. He’s 29-for-54 on the season from deep, which equates to 53.7%. According to KenPom, that’s the fourth-best percentage in college basketball among those with at least 50 attempts this season.

I had the chance to speak with Kohler’s dad, Jeff, after the game to go over what Kohler had done to reach this point. To an outsider, it is hard to fathom. He hadn’t made a single three during his first two years at Michigan State. Last season, it was a niche thing, and Kohler only took one or two long balls per game. Now, it’s the best shot MSU can take besides a Carr dunk.

Kohler’s father explained that the team keeps track of all the shots they take during practice. Apparently, one can see how much players on other teams that use the software are taking, because Jeff Kohler also said that Jaxon was nationally ranked. When I asked how many shots Jaxon was taking, he said that he was taking about 5,000 a week. That’ll definitely help.

Played Without Fouling

No team draws fouls like USC. The Trojans entered Monday’s game averaging the most free-throw attempts in college basketball at more than 30 shots per game. They ended up only taking 16 against MSU. Foul trouble was never part of the story of this game.

“It was the No. 1 thing on the scouting report, No. 2, No. 3,” Izzo said. “It was the No. 1 thing at halftime, it really was.”

Izzo had also quipped that USC’s Chad Baker-Mazara was “the world’s greatest flopper” before the game. Baker-Mazara ended up not attempting a single free throw in 18 minutes on Monday, only scoring four points. He averages nearly seven shots at the charity stripe per game and a little more than 20 points.

Michigan State ended up being the team to take more free throws, taking 18. USC was called for 17 fouls to the Spartans’ 14.

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