Michigan State Basketball: The good, great, bad, and ugly from Minnesota win in BTT

Michigan State basketball opened the Big Ten Tournament with a win over Minnesota. Let’s dive into the good, great, bad, and ugly.

Michigan State basketball is limping into the postseason at this point. With each game that passed, MSU was closer and closer to missing the tournament. While NET ratings say that MSU really never was in any danger, the Spartans essentially made it official as they won their first-round Big Ten Tournament game against Minnesota.

Even after a slow start (can we please stop the slow starts), Michigan State was able to beat Minnesota, 77-67. The Spartans were powered by a first-half Xavier Booker spark and fantastic second-half guard play to beat the hometown Gophers. 

Let’s get into the Big Ten Tournament win for Michigan State.

Good: First-half spark from Xavier Booker

Michigan State started Carson Cooper in the five spot for their first game in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday afternoon. While this change was likely welcomed by most Spartan fans being that it wasn’t Mady Sissoko getting the nod (who only logged one minute), Cooper wasn’t getting it done in the first four minutes. Tom Izzo decided to get Xavier Booker in the game thanks to his ability to stretch the floor, and it seemed to be the exact spark MSU needed. Minnesota jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but Booker quickly got the Spartans on the board. He was the recipient of back-to-back dunks and provided above-average defense. 

Booker has been a project in his freshman year, but he was exactly what MSU needed to put an end to their sluggish start today. He would end the day with six points, three rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 15 minutes. Those numbers don’t jump off the page, but the eye test will tell you Xavier put an end to the early momentum Minnesota had garnered. 

Great: Guard play

For the most part, MSU’s guard play has been superb this season. At times, Spartan fans have wanted to rip their hair out based on the play from AJ Hoggard, Tyson Walker, and Jaden Akins but all in all, they have primarily carried this roster. That was the same in MSU’s win against Minnesota on Thursday. MSU’s guards collectively finished with 50 of the team’s 77 points, 15 of their 19 assists, and seven of MSU’s 10 steals. Akins’ defense was a game-changer against the Gophers and Tre Holloman’s play, while maybe not stat-popping, was vital. Holloman finished with a team-high +12, while Hoggard, Walker, and Akins finished +3, +3, and +4 respectively. 

It should be stated that MSU’s guards actually had a poor first half, filled with turnovers and inefficient play. It was the bigs who kept the game close to start the first 10 minutes. But, as clearly stated, the guards figured it out in the second half and put the game away. It’s been said before, but based on how much is asked from MSU’s guards, this team will go as far as they take them. 

Bad: Free throw shooting

Michigan State basketball, this season, is average to slightly below average at the free throw line. Unfortunately, they performed even worse than average from the line against the Gophers. Michigan State would finish the day shooting 63 percent from the charity stripe, while their average this year is 70 percent. As MSU got off to such a slow start, Carson Cooper had two different opportunities to put an end to the early bleeding and went 1-for-4 from the line. Rather than a 7-0 run, it would have been a 7-4 run, if you would have been able to call it that. Malik Hall and Cooper would go 1-for-3 and 1-for-4, respectively. Luckily for State, Hoggard, and Walker both were 100 percent, going 4-for-4 and 2-for-2.

MSU got to the line 19 times, which is a good indicator that they were getting into the lane with success, but only converting on 12 of those, made their game closer than it likely should have been. Now that it’s March, free points cannot be left on the court. 

Ugly: Stagnant offense

As noted, MSU once again got off to a disappointing start. Their offense had no rhythm to it, and too often resulted in a contested, inefficient shot. There wasn’t much movement in the paint, and MSU’s ‘offense’ consisted of their guards running the perimeter and just completing dribble handoffs. This led to Michigan State basketball having one point four minutes into the game. 

The Spartans are at their best when they can get out and run. They did a good job once the game progressed, scoring 19 fast break points, and the momentum began to shift as they did. This isn’t a new strategy for Izzo-led teams, it just takes some time for this specific roster to get to their comfort zone. MSU is lucky they did so before halftime, as the past two games have taken the entirety of the first half to correct their slow start.