Michigan State basketball dominated Baylor on Saturday afternoon and here’s whose stock is up and whose is down.
For the first time all year, Michigan State basketball looked like the team fans thought they were going to see this year. With the mix of great play from the backcourt to the freshman contributing, this was the top-five preseason team that fans were excited about. But the real question is, can it stick around?
That won’t be answered quite yet but question the of whose stock went up during the Baylor win can be.
Stock up
- AJ Hoggard
This is the type of performance that Michigan State needs out of AJ Hoggard consistently if it ever wants to reach that preseason ceiling. He was not only active on the offensive side of the ball but he was suffocating on defense. Hoggard was locked in from the start and gave the Baylor guards issues all afternoon with his aggressive defensive style and attacking the basket on offense.
- Coen Carr
Coen Carr’s athleticism was put on display in this game. From his block to his several dunks, including a windmill to go up 30, Carr impacted this game tremendously. Coen is a player that you just have to sit back and watch and he will have moments that leave you speechless. Not only were his dunks impressive, his ability to be a presence at the rim is a huge deal. One of the most impressive plays was when he jumped higher than the center and it led to a defensive stop. Carr is going to continue to play like this and if he can get a little bit of a jumper going, he will continue to have his stock rise.
- The center position
The center position hasn’t been playing well this year but this is a game that will help. I don’t think this will solve the scoring issue that Michigan State has but Mady Sissoko and Carson Cooper both were good this game. I loved how Mady defended the Pnr game and his hands were pretty good in this game. Carson was more of the offensive threat for the night and helped the bench score more points than Baylor. Michigan State is going to need some sort of consistency from this position and they might not get it but the game against Baylor showed some flashes that both Carson and Mady can make an impact in the game.
Stock down
- Nobody
When you play the best game a school has played in years, no one really deserves the stock down. You know this is true when Tom Izzo even says that this is the best game they have played in years. This one win is very important but will this be the moment the season turns around?
It could be the moment and if Michigan State goes on a run, we can look back at this game to say that it started the run.
More must-reads: