Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from domination of Colorado

Michigan State basketball made the trip down to Hawaii this past weekend, a trip I am sure many of us are jealous of. The Spartans entered the Maui Invitational at 4-1, coming off of a come-from-behind victory over Samford. Their first-round opponent, Colorado, came into Maui at 4-0, but it was an untested team. Following an upset victory in the first game of the tournament, with Memphis taking down UConn, hype was at an all-time high for this game.

Both teams came in fired up, going a combined 5-for-5 on the first five shots of the contest. The Spartans would keep the momentum in scoring, but not on threes, taking a double-digit lead and never letting it dip too much. MSU won 72-56, leaving no doubt.

What did we learn?

1. Jase Richardson is the best shooter on this team

Entering the trip to Hawaii, a lot was made of true freshman Jase Richardson’s injury status. He was injured in the last minute of Tuesday’s game against Samford, and announcers were very concerned about a season-ender. Tom Izzo and Jaden Akins sounded less concerned post-game, and it turns out they were right, as Richardson was cleared to play.

From when Richardson checked in from just before the under-16, he was dynamic.

He showed no signs of being held back by an injury and was able to jump up and make multiple baskets that left you wondering “how did he do that?” At one point, the announcers said, “Richardson will be starting by the end of the year.” It was not stated as a question, it was as a fact. They are completely correct.

Jase Richardson is the best pure shooter on this team, which is a weird statement to type about a player in his sixth career game for a historic program like the Spartans. He led the team with eight points at the break on perfect 4-for-4 shooting. He was also getting involved on defense, with two boards in the first half. Richardson finished with a team-high 13 points and was named the player of the game on the broadcast.

I completely agree. He was everywhere on offense and defense, from the second he checked in the game to when he was subbed out for Nick Sanders in the final minute. Richardson was 6-for-8 on Monday, including 5-for-6 on his mostly contested two-point shots.

His first three attempt led to his first miss of the contest. He would make up for it on his next three attempt, though.

Speaking of threes…

2. Where is a three???

Michigan State basketball struggled from deep — again. After starting 0-for-9 from three on Tuesday against Samford, the Spartans were another 0-for-9 in the first half from the arc. Jaden Akins and Xavier Booker each recorded a 0-for-3 mark in the first half. Akins expanded that to 0-for-4 before the under-16 in the second half, along with a turnover in the first half that a confident Akins likely buries for three before trying the extra dribble.

The Spartans led by double digits for a majority of the final 30 minutes in the game, and it would have been much easier for the team if they could hit even 30 percent of their open threes. Michigan State had the looks, but could not get a shot to fall. It is maddening to watch this every game. After finishing their Samford contest 7-for-15, it was thought maybe they had turned a corner. Evidently, it was fool’s gold.

Even Richarson couldn’t drill all his threes as the best shooter in the program. His missed three expanded the streak to 0-for-13 to begin the game. He drilled his next attempt, to finally get the team to 1-for-15. The Spartans did not have to wait long for another three as Frankie Fidler added a three the next attempt after Richardson’s make. The floodgates were slammed shut after that, and the Spartans finished 2-for-21. They won in spite of that and, at points, it was ugly.

3. Survive and advance

The Spartans dominated on Monday night, and it was not very close. Without the Spartans struggling from long range, Michigan State basketball likely wins by 30. That said, the Spartans took care of business to handily win by 16. However, I do not know how heavily to weigh this game. I had Colorado as the seventh-best team in this eight-team tournament. They played like the ninth-best team on Monday. The Spartans played the first 26 minutes of the game without a single three and led by a 7-11-point margin for most of the time over the Buffaloes.

Michigan State’s defense was stifling. No one could score on Tom Izzo’s squad and the defense forced 12 Colorado turnovers. Despite the ref show at the end, the Spartans played very clean, with only one Spartan having more than two fouls. All of Izzo’s timeouts came without a Colorado run. The Buffaloes never threatened outside of their early barrage of triples. The Spartans played clean and smart and dominated. Even with 17 missed threes’, I would call 14-15 of them “smart” and “good” shots.

Tuesday will be the true test for if this Spartan team is legit or if this Colorado team is that bad. Both could be true, as the Buffaloes get to play an angry UConn team. Best of luck, Colorado.

What’s next?

Tuesday is the true test for the Spartans. They get a tough team in Memphis that took down the giant that is back-to-back national title winner UConn in overtime. If MSU wins, they get to play for their second Maui title in school history. The tip is at 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday night.