Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from rout of Niagara

Michigan State basketball is back, playing a purple team in November. What could go wrong? The Spartans were back in action on Thursday night, playing the Niagara Purple Eagles on Big Ten Network. The Purple Eagles entered as the “weakest” Spartan opponent of the season, but they proved to be anything but that in the first 22 minutes.

The pesky Eagles put up 100 in their season opener, and their prowess in raining three’s proved true at the Breslin Center. They led by seven early, then pulled to within four at the start of the second half. However, their depth and physicality were not enough to play a full 40 minutes with the Spartans, as Michigan State pulled away in the final 18 minutes to win convincingly, 96-60.

What’d we learn?

1. Déjà vu? Purple teams raining three’s against the Spartans

In a tale as old as the Sweet 16 in 2023, a purple team gashed the Spartans for threes during this game. Niagara hit back-to-back-to-back triples on the Spartans to start the game. Michigan State basketball faced its first deficit of the season, being down 9-2 early.

Thankfully, the Spartans came back and made it 16-12 by the under-12 media timeout.

Then, whenever the Spartans started to pull away, a three was waiting for the Purple Eagles to make everyone sit up a bit straighter. It was not a comfortable margin, as the Spartans pushed the lead to 12, only to have it evaporate to five by the under-four media timeout in the first half.

Again, when MSU hit a 12-point lead, the Purple Eagles went on a 5-0 run, capped by a three, to make it a seven-point game at half. They would not go away in the first half. In the second half, another three cut the lead all the way to four, giving Spartan fans nightmares against teams in purple. Thankfully, after that moment, it was all green the rest of the way.

When does a purple team hurting Michigan State with crucial three’s stop? Kansas State, Northwestern, and James Madison have all had an affinity for raining three’s on the Spartans.

To make things worse, another purple team, the Washington Huskies, are in the Big Ten now as well. I am already mentally bracing myself for the dread of that game.

2. The bigs situation: Maddening at points, but clarity

Would it be a 2020s Michigan State basketball season without some big man problems? The Spartans have struggled to find a true answer at the center position since Xavier Tillman went to the NBA. On Thursday, the Spartans had the highs and lows. Jaxon Kohler led the team with 10 points at half, including shooting 4-of-5 at the stripe, but he started the night with a missed rebound and missed three. Szymon Zapala had a nice finish at the net in his one shot in the first half, but his two first-half fouls led to only eight minutes played.

Carson Cooper’s first half was forgettable to say the least. He had two rebounds and assists, but the lack of finish at the net led to a seven-point swing late in the half. Coen Carr had an alright half, with a dunk to energize the crowd after Niagara went up seven. However, he had two first-half turnovers, including one late in the half when a 12-point lead turned into seven.

Xavier Booker had a quiet first half, but his five rebounds and three assists in the final box score were praised by Tom Izzo post-game.

Going back to Kohler, he was a man possessed to start the second half. He grabbed a few boards, tipped to ball to Fears, and hit his career high in points all before the under-16 media timeout in the second. Kohler dominated the second half and destroyed the box score. He set three career-highs: points (20), rebounds (12), and steals (2). Kohler was the star of the show, and fittingly, he had a swarm of media around him postgame. Going forward, he said, he was expecting the “double figure points and rebounds, that is what I bring to the team.”

Naturally, with this against a more “small ball” team, the team was able to utilize their size more efficiently too. That said, Kohler was the best big on the court, and was the best player in general tonight.

3. Letting teams back in the game at the start of the second is not ideal

Michigan State basketball is only two games into the season, and there is already a concerning trend. The Spartans let Monmouth come within six out of half and let Niagara come within four. The early two-minute stint out of half is brutal for the Spartans right now. While they recovered both times, beating Monmouth by 24 and beating Niagara by 24 at the under-eight, it is not going to be that easy against Kansas next week or even Colorado later this month. It is early and a trend I am sure Tom Izzo will talk to the team on before Kansas, but the Spartans are losing a crucial period of the game, currently.

The conditioning has won the Spartans the last two game, with King Rich of Monmouth sufficiently saying “we won a few four-minute stints, but then the Big Ten took over.”

George Paulus of Niagara was very similar, complimenting the Spartans’ depth in “not just points, but size and physicality.”

The Spartans have much more athleticism and the ability to score from anywhere this season, but they will not have as big of a factor on depth when it comes to facing teams like Kansas next week and the Big Ten in general. That said, this amount of depth early in the season (56 bench points) are a great sign. If one player is having an off night, there is a Spartan available to aid their teammates’ struggles. I am super excited for Michigan State basketball this winter.

What’s up next for Michigan State?

The Spartans get a few days to rest and practice before traveling down to Atlanta. There, they face the Kansas Jayhawks and familiar foe Hunter Dickinson in the Champions Classic. This will be their first “true test” of the season. Their next home outing comes in over a week, with the Spartans hosting the Bowling Green State Falcons at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 16.