Michigan State basketball opened the Big Ten Tournament’s second round with a win over Minnesota. What did we learn?
On March 14, Michigan State basketball was back in action. The Spartans faced Minnesota to open the Big Ten Tournament, their third time facing the Golden Gophers this season. The teams had previously split the series, each winning in their home confines. Now, both teams needed a win to advance in the Big Ten Tournament and to finalize their resume for post-season tournaments.
This game was essentially a must-win for the Spartans, as they would be flirting with missing the tournament with a loss. Thankfully, they do not have to sweat that out. After a rough first half due to foul trouble and “stupid (expletive)” in AJ Hoggard’s words, the Spartans pulled away to win by 10.
We learned a lot today, and it might be that “Mr. March” is back at the helm for MSU. What are the main takeaways?
1. Early foul trouble and lapses saw a mixed rotation in the first half
This game started with Carson Cooper receiving a start and Xavier Booker being the first bench sub for Malik Hall. Speaking of Hall, he was silent the first half, in part due to two early fouls. As a result, the Spartans played Jaxson Kohler, Coen Carr, and Xavier Booker early and often. Booker added six points, all dunks, during his stints. Tre Holloman came off the bench in his hometown and was on the court for 9 first-half minutes. Holloman added a steal, an assist, and a shot from beyond the arc that rattled in. He saw the court often as AJ Hoggard struggled with some early turnovers and poor defensive play.
Speaking of Booker, the Hall foul trouble led to us seeing a lot of Booker at the four spot today. Booker provided quality minutes and is a guy that we need to see more of in the future. He led the team with four points at the media timeout for the under-8. At the four or five spot, it does not matter. The Spartans need Booker on the court.
Kohler contributed two points on 1-for-3 first-half shooting, but his defensive lapses hurt the Spartans. By most estimations, Kohler allowed 6-8 points when he was the primary defender. With Hall’s foul trouble, Coen Carr contributed two points when he was fouled trying for a dunk. While not ideal, the Spartans survived this onslaught and were only down by two at half.
2. Two sophomores were the heroes today
All year, we heard about how the seniority and guard play would guide the Spartans this season. On Thursday, the elder leadership stepped up and the trio of Hall, Tyson Walker, and Hoggard were the among the three leading scorers. However, we also saw two sophomores have amazing games that helped propel the Spartans into the next round of the Big Ten Tournament. Holloman has been on a hot streak recently, and Tom Izzo again turned to him to make plays when Hoggard was having a bad first half.
Even when Hoggard righted the ship in the second half, we saw a lot of Holloman, as he played 11 minutes in the second half. Holloman was back in front of his hometown crowd, and he finished with 9 points and multiple clutch defensive plays and assists. Tom Izzo was very complimentary of Holloman, and Tre also expressed his appreciation of being able to play in front of his home crowd post-game.
The other hero was highly unlikely. Kohler had the best game of his season today, scoring seven points and being locked in on defense. While Kohler allowed lapses, he turned around his game in the second half. He did not solidify the five spot in the future, but he provided a ton of energy and ferocity the Spartans needed. Kohler was second on the team in plus-minus today, finishing plus-11. The leader in this statistic, you might ask? Holloman, at plus-12.
3. This team was efficient, and it’s dangerous
Michigan State basketball fell into a lull at the start of the game, and then were in that rut early in the second half. Both times, the Spartans turned things around and put together 13-3 and 15-2 runs to recapture the leads. Michigan State came back and marched through Minnesota, turning a game that took years off of us into a 10-point victory. The Spartans had six first-half turnovers, but reset at half and only had three the rest of the way.
The Spartans were highly efficient on Thursday as well. Izzo had commented that the team took too many shots from beyond the arc, which had a lot of people confused. This team only attempted a eight 3-pointers times, but landed six of them. Shooting 75 percent from beyond the arc is the definition of efficient. In the second half, the Spartans shot 62 percent from the field.
Naturally, this team struggled from the free throw line in a tradeoff. They missed seven from the charity stripe. That would be my main gripe. However, the lineup took a step forward. Minute distribution might’ve been the best we have seen this season, and Izzo going with a committee of Kohler, Booker, and Cooper over Mady Sissoko worked wonders.
Also, give Izzo props for some adjustment at half. Kohler was eaten alive in the first half on layups and dunks. In the second, Akins, Walker, or Holloman always crashed at the right moment to create a steal or send the ball out of bounds. This team played the defensive ball it all needed to wrap up a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
While the job is finished for making the NCAA Tournament for MSU, the Big Ten Tournament is not finished. The Spartans, upon their win on Thursday, get the “honor” of playing 1-seeded Purdue. They tip tomorrow at noon.
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