Michigan State basketball heads west with youth movement in full swing

EAST LANSING – The last time Michigan State basketball went on the road didn’t go as planned. Neither did the Spartans’ last trip to the West Coast.

Tom Izzo hopes that will change this weekend as No. 12 MSU embarks on its first trip to the Pacific Northwest for Big Ten play.

Advertisement

The Spartans (15-2, 5-1) open their two-game swing at Washington (10-7, 2-4) on Saturday, Jan. 17. Tipoff is 6 p.m. ET at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle (BTN).

“It’s a business trip. We got a lot of things we gotta get done if we’re gonna contend for anything,” Izzo said Thursday morning before the team took off for a six-day trip that also includes a game Tuesday at Oregon. “This is where, at this time of year, I either see an upswing or a downswing. Very few teams stay the same at this time of year. You’re either moving in one direction or the other.”

Here’s what to watch for Saturday’s game against the Huskies and the extended trip to Washington and Oregon:

RELATED Michigan State basketball at Washington tipoff: Matchup analysis and a prediction

Advertisement

Heading west

Last year, when the Big Ten expanded, the Spartans took their perfect conference record with them on a five-day trip to Los Angeles for games with USC and UCLA. They returned with a pair of losses that turned into three in four games – with Oregon providing a staunch test at Breslin Center in MSU’s in-between-losses victory.

“The most important thing I learned – I’d like to go there and win two games instead of lose two games,” Izzo said after Tuesday’s 81-60 home win over Indiana, which handed the Spartans their only other Big Ten loss last year. “There was no fault in how we prepared things and how we traveled, it was all class and we do a good job of that stuff. It’s not easy. It’s not easy, it’s different. These are college guys, they’re not used to the West Coast trips and things like that. And neither are those teams that come back here.”

Advertisement

MSU defeated Washington on Jan. 9 last year in East Lansing, 88-54, and pulled away from Oregon, 86-74, a month later on Feb. 8, 2025. This time, the Spartans got to Seattle a day early to acclimate to the time difference, then will practice at Nike’s campus outside of Portland before heading to Eugene to face the Ducks on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET/FS1).

“Mentally, we gotta be tougher and figure out how to grind it out out there,” Izzo said.

The Spartans have only played once against the Huskies in Seattle, a 71-69 loss on Dec. 30, 1957. They have won five straight in the series, including postseason victories in the 1986 NCAA tournament and in 1996 in the National Invitation Tournament opening round, Izzo’s first postseason victory. This will be MSU’s first road game against Oregon in the sixth meeting between the schools, with the four before last season all neutral site games.

Youth movement

The Big 4 for MSU – Jeremy Fears Jr., Jaxon Kohler, Coen Carr and Carson Cooper – remains the focus. But behind the quartet of starter captains, the Spartans are seeing midseason growth from another Key 3 of younger players coming off the bench in Kur Teng, Cam Ward and Jordan Scott.

Advertisement

Over his last eight games, since a scoreless performance in a loss to Duke, Teng is averaging 9.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 18.5 minutes. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is hitting 40.5% from 3-point range in that span (17-for-42) and also has 11 assists to nine turnovers.

Izzo said Teng and senior Kohler “are my two hardest working guys as far as living in the gym” to improve facets of their play, and the Hall of Fame coach feels that hustle can eventually translate to a more well-rounded player as the sophomore matures.

“He’s gotta get better with the ball, he’s gotta get better at passing the ball, and he’s gotta get a little better defending the ball,” Izzo said of Teng. “And that’s not abnormal. I say in America, if you look at all the great shooters, there are very few that play both ends of the court. We need him to be good on the offensive end and adequate on the defensive end. And we don’t need him to over-handle the ball, but we need him to be adequate where he’s not turning it over.”

Ward’s offensive production has been up and down due to the lingering effects of a wrist injury he suffered against North Carolina on Nov. 27. As that has started to mend, the 6-8 power forward has started to assert himself with 15 points and 16 rebounds in 14.3 minutes over the past three games.

Advertisement

As Izzo searches for consistency on the perimeter, Scott has emerged as a major contributor at both shooting guard and wing with his lanky frame and defensive want-to. He is averaging 5.5 points and shooting nearly 42% from 3-point range while grabbing 3.8 boards over his last 10 games while averaging 18.8 minutes.

“A huge shout out to those two,” Kohler said of the freshmen. “With Cam being that strong inside presence, that dog in the paint, we need that. We need him to get boards, we need him to be that tough guy – that gritty guy that goes up and hits and-ones. He just really gets it. And Jordan making those 3s, it’s not easy to do that when we’re this far into the season and going up against Big Ten teams that have scouted all our plays.”

For Scott and Ward, both said Teng – a year their elder in the program but in his first season of meaningful minutes – has become a guiding force for their growth. Ward pointed to a halftime talk Teng had with the rookies during the comeback win over Northwestern on Jan. 8 as a pivotal moment for the bench brigade.

Advertisement

“He was like, ‘Yo, we gotta come out out here and get a couple stops for them, we gotta come out here and do something to just affect the game,’” Ward said of Teng. “He brought us all together, and that just shows how much leadership he has on this team. Although he’s a sophomore, he may not be a main captain. But as far as us being freshmen, he’s definitely someone that we look up to as far as just trying to make plays.”

Washington update

Washington underwent a drastic offseason overhaul under second-year coach Danny Sprinkle, who brought in almost an entirely new roster of 13 transfers from the portal and high school ranks this winter.

Advertisement

However, coming off a competitive 82-72 home loss to No. 3 Michigan on Wednesday, it’s a group Izzo believes is “very talented” and starting to get past some injuries that hampered the Huskies early.

“Danny’s a good coach. It’s just a matter of, like everybody else has to do, can you put the pieces together?” Izzo said. “Does the puzzle fit? And on given nights, that puzzle is gonna fit, because it’s got talent. What you’re hoping for is consistency, and that’s what they’re striving for right now as they get some players back.”

Six players score in double figures, led by the 17.9 points and 11.2 rebounds from 6-11 German-imported forward Hannes Steinbach, one of five freshmen Sprinkle added. The lone returnee from last season, 6-4 sophomore guard Zoom Diallo, averages 14.9 points and 3.5 assists a game. He had eight points on 4-for-10 shooting in last year’s loss at MSU.

Among the eight transfers are a few familiar with the Spartans, including 6-6 senior swingman Desmond Claude (USC), 6-4 sophomore guard Wesley Yates III (USC), 6-7 sophomore forward Bryson Tucker (Indiana) and 6-10 sophomore center Lathan Sommerville (Rutgers). Another new addition, 6-11 senior center Franck Kepnang, did not play against MSU while at Oregon last season.

Advertisement

Washington averages 81.1 points (101st in Division I) and gives up 73.6 a game (tied for 186th). The Huskies outrebound opponents by 4.9 a game overall but have been slightly outrebounded against Big Ten foes (minus-0.3) and shooting just 30.8% from 3-point range in league play. They are 1-2 at home, with a win over Ohio State and losses to the Wolverines and UCLA.

Prediction

The Spartans continue to push the pace with Fears as the conductor of their transition offense, but this will be a game in which Izzo needs big men Kohler and Cooper to deliver at both ends of the floor in halfcourt sets after a long flight. The Huskies keep things close, but MSU gets a workmanlike start to the road trip. The pick: MSU 79, Washington 70.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

Advertisement

Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Next up: Huskies

Matchup: Michigan State (15-2, 5-1 Big Ten) vs. Washington (10-6, 2-3 Big Ten).

Tipoff: 6 p.m. Saturday; Alaska Airlines Arena, Seattle.

TV/radio: Big Ten Network; WJR-AM (760).

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball heads west with youth movement in full swing