BASKETBALL

Michigan State basketball: Stock watch after double-digit win at Michigan

Who’s on the rise?

Published

2 years ago

February 19, 2024

Zack Theis

Michigan State basketball picked up a big win at Michigan on Saturday night and a handful of guys saw their stocks rise.

For the first time since 2019, Michigan State basketball won at Crisler Arena and has swept Michigan. Going into this game, there were mixed emotions from fans. Some said that they did not know what to expect and others said Michigan State would win easily. This game ended up being closer than what the final score showed, which was Michigan State winning by eight.

Michigan State was able to get the win and that was because of some key performances from Tyson Walker and Malik Hall.

Stock Up

Malik Hall

Going into this year, there were questions about Hall and his consistency. He had some great games throughout his career but this year has been different. He has been about as consistent as anyone on this team this year outside of two games. Hall’s consistent performance has been a huge factor in why this team is playing better lately and he was great again on Saturday. With 18 points, Malik was the second-leading scorer on the team as he made key play after key play. Seeing Hall have this kind of senior year has been great, and he is part of the reason every member of this team got their first win at Crisler.

Tyson Walker

Walker was the leading scorer in the game against Michigan. He also hit one of the only threes that Michigan State made. Walker was able to get going early in this game and he was the reason Michigan State hung around early on. Early in this game, defense was optional for both of these teams but Walker was able to slash into the lane and get easy buckets. He also hit a few pull-up jumpers in this game as well. Walker and Hall were huge contributors on the offensive end as well as on defense. Michigan State needed to have a good performance from him and they got one.

Coen Carr/Xavier Booker

If there’s one thing to take away from the game against Michigan, it’s that these two need more minutes. I know fans have been asking for this almost all year but we are starting to see progress and moments from both Coen Carr and Xavier Booker. When Booker played his three minutes, he didn’t score but he seemed more confident on the defensive end and had a few rebounds. He also showed effort, which should please Tom Izzo. Now let’s talk about Carr. Is there a more fun player to watch when he’s in transition? Carr had a highlight dunk during this game that seemed like it almost brought down the roof. He should get more minutes as he continues to become more confident on both ends of the court.

The fans

The fans deserve a lot of credit for yesterday. They made it seem like a home game for this team. A few players after the game even said that this game at Crisler did not even feel like an away game. There were go green go white chants for the majority of the night. There were even fans chanting while Michigan was shooting free throws. It has been years since it seems like Michigan State fans took over Crisler and they did that last night.

Stock Down

Mady Sissoko

For a third straight game, Mady Sissoko makes the stock down category. After suffering through foul troubles again and not rebounding, Sissoko has struggled on both ends. He has been outplayed recently by Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler and he was again on Saturday night. Izzo even addressed it after the game that he was disappointed in how Mady played. If he continues to play like this, he will continue to have his minutes lowered as he’s in there to rebound and set picks and he can’t do that when he is in foul trouble and playing poorly.

AJ Hoggard/Jaden Akins

This wasn’t one of AJ Hoggard’s or Jaden Akins’ best games especially against Michigan. They both got in foul trouble early and did not contribute much in the first half. In the second, they were able to hit some shots but also missed shots that they usually make, especially Akins. This team was able to hang on without great performances from Hoggard or Akins but this team will need more consistency from both of these guys going forward.

When you sweep your rival, no fan is going to be upset. Could this Michigan State basketball team have played much better or won by more? It absolutely could have and probably should have. There were moments in the first half when this team had all the momentum and then let Michigan go on a decent run. This team can’t do that against great teams but when you play a team like Michigan that hasn’t been good, you could get away with it, which they did.

Getting that win on Saturday will hopefully keep the momentum for this team going, as it’s their first sweep over Michigan since 2019.