Michigan State basketball: 3 key stats from win over Northern Michigan

Michigan State basketball went up north on Sunday to face Tom Izzo’s alma mater in one of the coolest venues in college sports. The Spartans went to Marquette Michigan to play Northern Michigan in the Superior Dome and came away with a 70-53 win.

Like most preseason or early-season contests, the Spartans were shaking off some rust and it showed. They let a 28-point second-half lead dwindle down to the teens before ending with a 17-point victory. Nothing impressive, but good film to correct mistakes.

After watching the game and looking at the box score, a few key stats stood out.

1. Akins and Fidler combining for 9 points on 3-of-14 shooting

Not all key stats have to be positive and this one definitely wasn’t.

Look, I get it, this is the preseason and these guys aren’t going to go all out against these inferior opponents in order to avoid injuries. But you’d like to at least see a little more offense from your two best players who also happen to be veterans. Akins was 2-for-12 and Fidler was 1-of-2 and they combined for just nine points. Fidler was in foul trouble the whole game so I’ll give him a pass, but Akins has to be more consistent.

2. A 40-21 rebounding advantage

Honestly, this surprised me and it makes me feel better about the post heading into the season.

Neither Carson Cooper nor Szymon Zapala jumped off the screen at me on the offensive end, but their work on the glass and rim protection was really solid. They combined for 13 rebounds and three blocks (all Cooper’s blocks). They showed a much better post presence than the one Michigan State had last season and they rarely, if ever, got beat on the glass. Jaxon Kohler added eight rebounds and Xavier Booker brought down just two but had three blocks.

Michigan State did allow eight offensive boards which is too many, but out-rebounding Northern Michigan 40-21 was nice to see.

3. 18-for-23 at the free throw line

A year ago, Michigan State basketball struggled at the free throw line often. The Spartans finished the year shooting just over 70 percent from the line, but guys like Tyson Walker (for his standards), Coen Carr, Kohler, and Booker struggled to hit their freebies consistently.

That wasn’t the case on Sunday.

Michigan State was a solid 18-for-23 from the line which is good for nearly 80 percent. Kohler hit all four of his, Tre Holloman was 3-for-3, Jeremy Fears Jr. was 3-for-4, and even Szymon Zapala made both of his attempts.

Making free throws at a 75-plus percent clip could be the difference between making and missing the NCAA Tournament. These numbers matter when it comes to late-game situations.