Magic Johnson Praises MSU After Upset Win Against Kentucky

• " I love what I saw tonight from my MSU Spartans men’s basketball team. We beat Kentucky 83-66, another win over a top 25 team following a victory over Arkansas on Nov. 8th. We were 50% from the three point line, hitting 11 total, and the biggest reason we won. Jeremy Fears had 13 assists, Jaxon Kohler scored 20 points, and Kur Teng added 15 points off the bench. "

The three major things in which Magic Johnson praised are listed below in more statistical depth.

The Three Point Shooting

• Going into their game against the Wildcats, the Spartans had been abysmal in three-point shooting.

• Their last game against a ranked team saw them make one lone three-point shot out of 14 attempts, yielding a 7.1% three-point percentage.

• Even against unranked teams, their shooting was still leaving much to be desired, with 24% of three's made against San Jose State and 28.6% being successful against Colgate.

• So it was a vast improvement for the team in their jump up to 50% in three-point shooting, and definitely well-deserving of the praise from Magic Johnson.

The Duo Of Jaxon Kohler And Jeremy Fears Jr.

• Sophomore Guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was an assist machine against the Wildcats, where he had 13 assists, many of which went to Senior Forward Jaxon Kohler.

• The duo combined for 28 points, and with Fears Jr.'s many assists, they indirectly scored many more.

• Such high levels of chemistry between the Forward and Guard were a big aid to the dominant win by the Spartans.

• Furthermore, Kohler had two three-pointers made out of two attempted, being a part of the deep shot revival against the Wildcats, aided by Fears Jr.'s assists.

• Kohler and Fears Jr. were key to the Spartans' victory, and if Magic Johnson could only praise the one part of the team, he most likely would have focused on those two.

The Strong Bench Play By Kur Teng And Others

• In a less-than-desirable game against Arkansas, the bench saw fewer than 20 points and were not shooting up to Tom Izzo's standard.

• However, against the Wildcats, the bench had a much better game and players such as Kur Teng rebounded amazingly, scoring 34 total points, 15 by the aforementioned Teng.

• The great bench play is where MSU thrived last year and they seemed back to form against the Wildcats, and it is a very good thing that they played well enough to catch Magic Johnson's attention.

• After all, whether it be for the bench, the chemistry in Fears and Kohler, or the three point shooting, if MSU is drawing praise from Magic Johnson then they are doing things right and should hope to keep it that way.