Michigan State basketball: The good, great, bad, and ugly from Georgia Southern win

Michigan State basketball cruised to a get-right 86-55 victory on Tuesday night against the Eagles. Here is the good, great, bad, and ugly.

A few days removed from the comeback loss against Arizona, Michigan State basketball had to get back to basics and work out some issues. And the 0-6 Georgia Southern Eagles presented the perfect opportunity to do so. 

Michigan State may have started slow in the first few minutes, but hard-nosed defense allowed the Spartans to pull away extremely quickly. Allowing just 11 first-half points, MSU hit a 25-3 run to put the game in hand as the first half came to an end. They then continued the trend into the second half, and never let up. Even with the starting lineup adjustments and tweaks, Michigan State cruised to an 86-55 victory on Tuesday night against the Eagles.

Here is the good, great, bad, and ugly from the win. 

Good: Roster adjusting

It’s no secret that Michigan State’s roster has been shaky to say the least this season. The main reasoning behind the Spartans’ fall out of the Top 25 was due to their starters underperforming. Some have begun to figure it out, but not all. Tom Izzo took this get right game as an opportunity to shake things up and try and get the best out of his veterans. Even after one of his best games this season against Arizona, AJ Hoggard was relegated back to coming off the bench. As was Carson Cooper after his short stint in the starting lineup. Tre Holloman and Mady Sissoko replaced the two. Tre responded quite well, with 10 assists and seven points. Sissoko would have 10 points and four rebounds. 

It was a little surprising seeing AJ out of the starting lineup after playing quite well on Thanksgiving night against Arizona. Tom Izzo has such high expectations for his veteran point guard that his performance was still not up to par. Izzo even mentioned it as such.

“I’m trying everything I can try to try to get AJ to play at a level that I think he’s capable of playing at,” Izzo said. “I’ve pampered him, I’ve yelled at him. I said we’re going to try something different.” – Tom Izzo regarding Hoggard playing to his potential 

At the very least, Izzo is attempting to shake things up. He knows that this team will only go as far as the veterans take them. And Izzo has to awaken them one way or another.