Michigan State basketball: 3 final thoughts on win over New Mexico

In case you had not heard, Michigan State basketball is back to the Sweet 16 following a win over New Mexico. The Lobos had a familiar face for the Spartans, former Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino. He, unsurprisingly, gave the Spartans fits all game, between a slow first half and perfect timeouts to prevent momentum.

A lot went wrong for the Spartans, but they found a way to rally. While it was only a win against a 10-seed, it was a warning for the rest of the 15 remaining squads, too. Michigan State basketball had an off night and won. Jaden Akins was the star, posting an efficient 16 points on 11 shots.

1. Jase Richardson has his ‘freshman moment’

In what was arguably the biggest night of the season, Jase Richardson had the worst night of his young career. Now, this is not putting any blame on the freshman. He knew it, with his body language in the locker room. He was off from the get-go. Richardson was missing his normal shots, not getting to the foul line, and being a step behind. For the first time all year, he looked like a freshman.

Until the final five minutes, Richardson had put up a goose egg. Even when he finally scored, a rhythm three for Richardson airballed. That is never the case. Even Tom Izzo could not help but embrace the freshman and laugh at the media timeout.

The takeaway from this is that his teammates all picked him up. No one was down on the phenom, and they all expressed support for him in the locker room. They all called it an off night, and have confidence in the freshman.

Even worse for the competition, Michigan State basketball survived its doomsday. A Richardson no-show is unlikely to happen again in these last few games. Now, this team knows they can survive it, and Jase Richardson will not let one game hold him back.

2. Missed threes and missed free throws

As of late, this team has swapped its success shooting free throws for success behind the arc. On Sunday, they had neither. The Spartans clanked free throws at an alarming rate, and their 10 made threes on Friday night were dwarfed to four on Sunday.

Tre Holloman and Jeremy Fears Jr. each missed a pair of free throws in the opening frame, leading to a 2-point deficit at halftime, among other problems. With Holloman contributing a made three, it is easy to give him a pass.

In the second half, Frankie Fidler, a shooter with a career mark over 85 percent at the stripe, missed all three free throws. The anomaly of all anomalies. Carson Cooper also missed a free throw, and Fears missed one more. Considering Jeremy Fears Jr.’s prolific ability to get to the charity stripe, I expect Tom Izzo to be working the freshman on his free throws the rest of the season.

As far as the three pointers go, Holloman and Akins were the only players to hit a three for MSU, as they only shot 15 total beyond the arc. Holloman was the only player to make a three in the first half, then picked up one more in the second. Jaden Akins was the star, making two, including the proverbial “dagger” three that was nearly on the March Madness logo.

3. Two Forwards emerging

Shortly before the Big Ten Tournament began for MSU, I made a piece listing X-Factors for the Spartans’ postseason. In it, I listed Coen Carr and Frankie Fidler as two options. In the Cleveland portion of the tournament, we saw that play out.

Coen Carr lit up the Bryant Bulldogs on Friday, and added six boards and eight points of his own on Sunday, including a shocking 4-for-4 mark from the stripe. His emergence in rebounding has led to the sophomore being a halftime “starter” in the last two contests, replacing Szymon Zapala on Friday and Jaxon Kohler on Sunday.

Frankie Fidler, meanwhile, is finally having everything come together. Following a tough season, Fidler looked to be a player on the way to being one of the bottom rotation players until this tournament. With Kohler struggling, Booker benched, and Carr swarmed, Frankie Fidler played the hero on Sunday. Fidler had 10 points, and honestly, should have had 13 or 14 if not for his off night at the stripe. Add in a missed wide-open three, and it could have been a near-20-point outing.

Fidler missed those last few shots, sure, but he is putting himself in position to have those shots land. As we saw with Akins on Sunday, those shots will, eventually, go in the bucket. When we needed him most, Fidler has re-emerged.

What’s next?

Michigan State basketball moves on to face its toughest test of the tournament yet, both seeding-wise and matchup-wise. They get 6-seeded Ole Miss, whose head coach, Chris Beard, knows a thing or two about beating the March versions of Tom Izzo. Michigan State resumes at 7:09 p.m. EST in Atlanta on CBS. A win here would put the Spartans in their first Elite Eight since 2019, where their run ended in the Final Four against Chris Beard and Texas Tech.