Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from comeback win over Oregon

Michigan State basketball returned to the friendly confines of the Breslin Center to host Oregon following a West Coast two-game skid. There was a lot of pressure with their 11-0 home record on the line and the 2000 National Championship team in the house.

Before the game, it was announced the game would be harder. Star point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was questionable with an illness for Saturday’s game, but would later be downgraded to out. In turn, freshman phenom Jase Richardson would get his first career start in front of his father’s national title team. He was the story of the day, too.

With Tom Izzo tying Bob Knight’s record for conference wins, the Spartans went from down 14 at half to comfortably win by 12.

1. Ugly first half

As has been the mantra for the losing streak, Michigan State basketball had an ugly first half. The Spartans gave up a 6-0 run to begin the game, retook the lead, but then slowly dug themselves into a hole. Nearly every player that touched the court for MSU had a turnover, Oregon had a ton of open threes for the taking, and the Spartans just fell apart.

It all culminated in Oregon hitting a triple at the buzzer to put up 50 in the first half. The Spartans were down 14. Last home game, against Minnesota, they had their best first-half defensive performance in at least a decade. Saturday, it was one of their worst.

No Jeremy Fears Jr. hurt this team. Turnovers were abundant. Telegraphed passes, it was frankly disgusting to watch.

2. Beautiful second half

This game was a tale of two halves. The Spartans were a completely different team in the second half. They started the second half with a Tre Holloman three and added a quick Jase Richardson and-one on their next possession. They started the second half on a 10-0 run, expanding it all the way to 17-6. Oregon then had a run of their own, but the crowd was energized and back in the game. Jaden Akins hit his own three, and Jase Richardson had his “team takeover” activated. More on that later.

The Spartans put up their best defensive effort of the half, with Oregon unable to make a single three in the second half after drilling 10 in the first half. The referees were a little foul-happy, too. However, while the Spartans excelled on the line today, the Ducks faltered. Oregon finished sub-70 percent while the Spartans were perfect in the second half on their way to an 89 percent mark from the charity stripe.

Beyond the arc, the Spartans had one of their best marks of the season, hitting 44% from 3-point land. Jaxon Kohler was a force, barging his way into a double-double as the game’s unsung hero. He finished as the second leading scorer, behind Jase Richardson. Speaking of Richardson…

3. We have found the alpha: Jase Richardson

This entire season, the one “fault” for this team was its lack of an alpha, a player who can take the game over. It appeared the Spartans had found that on Saturday. After a dreadful West Coast swing, Jase Richardson was tasked with starting as Fears Jr. was too sick to even be in the Breslin.

Richardson’s 11-point first half was the preview.

With the 2000s team in the house, most of whom had watched Jase grow up, Richardson exploded for a 29-point outing, blowing past the highest individual score for a Spartan this year. It was in multiple ways, too. Richardson got to the line, hit from deep, and created shots out of double teams. The team fed off of this energy, kicking it around to the freshman to let him dice up the defense.

He played a career-high 35 minutes today, but it was some of the most efficient 35 minutes we have seen from a Spartan basketball player. Richardson only put up 13 shots but scored 29 points. This was not the mark of a volume shooter. Everyone, from Tom Izzo to Dana Altman to Jase Richardson himself, talked about the efficiency of Richardson. It is clear to see why. Richardson’s second-half performance nearly tied Oregon’s output, with the freshman scoring 18 while the Ducks’ roster only put up 24. The difference? The freshman only needed 10 shots, the Ducks, meanwhile, needed 24.

This freshman does not make a bad mistake, or take a bad shot. Richardson had a self-admitted bad shot, but I disagree. He deserved the chance for a heat check with how everything was falling for the guard.

Going back to the Spartan Shadows Podcast around Maui, I stated that Michigan State’s best shooter was Richardson, and the focus should be creating more shots for him. We saw the rewards of that on Saturday. Richardson was a man on a mission.

While his minutes and starting role will likely diminish from Jeremy Fears Jr. returning to the lineup, I think Richardson has proven that he should be among the team leaders in minutes per night in the future. That ability to take over a game is something we have not seen from this year’s team, and it is a more than welcome addition.

What’s next?

Fresh off of tying Bob Knight’s record for Big Ten wins, Tom Izzo hosts Knight’s old team, the Indiana Hoosiers. Michigan State basketball gets the short rest, as that is a Tuesday night game. Izzo and Richardson both said that they would enjoy the comeback victory tonight, but it is business as usual on Sunday.