Michigan State basketball opened the season with an exhibition win over Bowling Green on Thursday night. So what can we takeaway from our first sample of Spartan hoops this year? I have some thoughts…
It was a back-and-forth game before the Spartans pulled away in the final 10 minutes for a relatively comfortable 75-66 win over the Falcons. Michigan State led by nine at the half, but a run early into the second half had the game tied before the Spartans were able to suffocate Bowling Green down the stretch for the win.
Advertisement
This was the first of two exhibition games for Michigan State, with the next scrimmage coming against a much more difficult team in UConn next week. Before we turn our focus to that final exhibition out east, let’s review some takeaways from Thursday night’s opener.
Captains lead the way
With Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins gone, Michigan State will have to heavily rely on its four captains this season and that’s what we got on Thursday night.
Coen Carr led the Spartans in scoring with 17 points and was equally impressive on defense with five blocks. Right behind him in scoring was Jaxon Kohler with 15 points, and behind him was Jeremy Fears Jr. with 12 points — and more importantly for Fears, nine assists for the near double-double.
Advertisement
Carson Cooper didn’t have as an impressive of an evening, but clearly these four cemented starters and leaders for the Spartans will need to play well for Michigan State to have success. That was the case on Thursday, and will need to be a trend for the Spartans to be a top-tier team — at least early on in the season before others get their footing and step up.
Spartans defense is once again going to be good
I’m not out here looking to make big time statements after one exhibition game against a mid-major foe, but I really liked what I saw on the defensive end tonight. The Spartans forced 11 turnovers from the Falcons, but even more impressive was the 14 blocks Michigan State racked up in this win.
Defending the perimeter was an issue on Thursday, with the Falcons shooting above 50% in the first half before coming back to Earth in the second half. But the improvement in the second frame shows that this shouldn’t be a long term concern. This should be a really good defensive team again this year.
Advertisement
Three-point shooting may still be a problem
It’s only one game, so again, I’m not going to truly worry yet — but, the three-point shooting wasn’t great on Thursday. The Spartans hit eight of 25 attempts from behind the arc, and had a chance to put the Falcons away early in the second half had they knocked down their danger threes. Ultimately, it didn’t matter, but I’m getting some early deja vu from the recent three-point struggles of the past few seasons.
If you’re looking for a positive in regards to three-point shooting, Fears knocked down two of his four attempts and if he can make that a norm, then his game is even more of a threat. So, take that as a positive at least.
Monitoring starting lineup
In a relative surprise, Kur Teng got the start over Samford transfer Trey Fort at the shooting guard position. Both played about the same amount of minutes in the game, with Teng finishing with seven points (+/- 14) and Fort with nine points (+/-0) in the win.
Advertisement
It’ll be interesting to see if Teng is going to hold that starting spot into the start of the season or if Izzo plans on giving Fort the next start as a trial / competition between the two. Either way, Michigan State should be in good hands at that spot with these two, just a matter of who is going to be the long term starter.
Plenty of room for improvement
A win is a win, and technically, this game doesn’t even count. So if you’re going to have a relative clunker of a performance, then tonight was the night to do it.
Michigan State showed its potential and flashes where they could be very dangerous and again in the mix for the Big Ten title. They also showed plenty of room for improvement, which I’m sure head coach Tom Izzo will love to lean into over the next week before they head to UConn for their second exhibition game.
Advertisement
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Five takeaways from MSU basketball’s exhibition win over Bowling Green
