Michigan State Basketball: 5 key moments that led to win over Oakland

Spartan faithful descended on Little Caesars Arena in Detroit to watch No. 20-ranked Michigan State basketball (9-2, 2-0 Big Ten) take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (3-6). The game was one where the result wasn’t really in doubt, but it was still very entertaining.

On the scoresheet, it ended in a 77-58 victory for the Spartans. There were several ups and downs in this game for the Spartans.

Let’s take a look at a few moments that helped define this game.

1. Jaden Akins misses 3-point shot at 11:13 in the first half

The first half was a rough one for the Spartans. Many could point to the fact that the Spartans haven’t played a game in 10 days, but Tom Izzo shot that down quickly in the post-game presser. Jaden Akins, along with the rest of the team, struggled very early on to get any steady offensive momentum going and it showed. Many of the shots, including this one by Akins seemed rushed. The Spartans struggled to find space against Greg Kampe’s defense which is unique in the way they play zone. MSU looked sluggish and it allowed Oakland to keep the score close, even with the talent gap between the teams.

2. DQ Cole hits fifth 3-point shot at 3:25 in the first half

Another issue that plagued the Spartans in the 1st half was stopping the Oakland shooters, especially from deep. DQ Cole, a junior, was able to hit five 3-pointers against the Spartans in the first half. It seemed as though the Grizzlies shooter could not miss. In the 1st half, they shot 35 percent from three. Late in the first half Cole hit his fifth 3-pointer to tie the game at 25 late. Shooting from behind the arc against teams like Michigan State basketball is something that Kampe said his guys need to do to keep it tight. When it works, it works well.

3. Tre Holloman foul to end the first half

This is a very small play, but an important one to look at when it comes to the outcome of this game. Tre Holloman committed a foul with about three seconds left in the first half. At that point, the score was 31-30 MSU. Oakland had possession and looked to take the lead going into the half. The Grizzlies were easily the better team in the first half. The genius with this play though was that fouling with less than three seconds didn’t give the Grizzlies the free throws, they just got to inbound the ball. Holloman fouling forced the Grizzlies to take a terrible shot to end the half and prevented them from taking the lead into the half with a better look. Credit goes to Holloman and Izzo for drawing that up to end a rough half on a high note.

4. Xavier Booker dunks at 5:21 in the second half

Xavier Booker had himself a game. He not only led the team in points, but he set a new career best for himself scoring 18. Most of those points came in the second half of this game. In a small stretch of the second half from about eight minutes remaining to five minutes left, he put up nine points. This stretch allowed Michigan State basketball to put the game away and extend the lead to 65-51. This stretch really emblemized the Spartan offense in the second half. The Grizzlies struggled to keep up during the second half and this was the point where it was clear that Oakland got tired. To their credit, they kept the game close for a large portion of the game. The size and talent that the Spartans have just won out and allowed them to outmuscle Oakland.

5. Jaden Akins dunks at 2:43 in the second half

This was the dagger. After Booker had his 9-6 run as mentioned before, the Grizzlies were desperately trying to hold on. When Jaden Akins came up the court and slammed the ball down, it was the final nail in the coffin for Oakland. That dunk also got the crowd to explode. Though this was technically a home game for Oakland, it seemed as though everyone forgot to tell the crowd that. It was easily a 90/10 split for Spartan fans compared to Grizzlies fans. The crowd was waiting for a moment to get crazy, and this provided the perfect moment. In the end, the Spartans sealed it and ended up taking the 77-58 victory.

Upcoming games

The Spartans have two more games upcoming to end the year. Both will be at the Breslin Center. First will be a game against Florida Atlantic this Saturday with tipoff at 2 p.m. ET. The other game is on Dec. 30 against Western Michigan. That game will tip off at 3 p.m. ET.

Stay tuned to Spartan Shadows for more updates on Spartan Basketball.