Michigan State basketball: Whose stock went up, down in Penn State win?

Who saw their stock rise and whose is falling after Michigan State basketball hammered Penn State on Thursday night?

Michigan State basketball had another outstanding game against Penn State. They dominated from the jump and cruised to a 92-61 victory.

A lot of Spartans played very well while some struggled at times.

Let’s take a look at whose stock went up and whose went down after the win over the Nittany Lions.

Stock risers

• Malik Hall

A lot of people owe Malik Hall an apology. Many fans were upset with his play to start the season, but man has he proved them wrong. Hall had a magnificent game on Thursday, finishing with a season-high 24 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Malik did it all for us in this game. He was super efficient offensively, helped clean up the glass, and set up his teammates as well. Even better, he really didn’t make any careless mistakes.

Hall won’t score this many points every night, but it’s the intangibles and leadership that he brings to this team that are second to none. That’s what you hope to see from your fifth-year senior and that is what he is doing now every night. It just so happens he’s also playing some of the best basketball of his career as well.

• Tre Holloman

Tre Holloman had another impressive outing against the Nittany Lions. He didn’t score a bunch of points like Malik, but he showed he had control of the offense while racking up his stats as well. He finished this game with 10 points and six assists. We will be a much better team if we can get this from Tre regularly.

With Jeremy Fears out indefinitely, we’re gonna need Tre to step up. His role on this team is growing, and he is taking full advantage of it. I try not to look forward to the future too much, but he’s gonna be a great scorer and distributor next year after our other guards are done in East Lansing.

Stock droppers

• Mady Sissoko

Let me preface by saying Mady Sissoko had a pretty solid game tonight defensively and rebounding the ball. It was his offense and other minor missed opportunities that were tough to see from him.

Mady was playing some excellent basketball during our four-game win streak before this matchup. But tonight just wasn’t his night offensively. He finished the night with five points and 12 rebounds, but his points could’ve easily been much better.

He just seemed a little sloppy tonight at times and not his usual self. Mady had a lot of rebounds, but he missed some easy ones early. He also fumbled a pass from Tyson Walker that should have been an easy dunk. To top it all off, he also airballed a 3-foot hook shot after his defender flopped to the ground.

I’m not overly concerned after one poor offensive performance, but Jaxon Kohler’s return will be a welcomed site.

• Xavier Booker

I thought tonight could’ve been a good opportunity for Xavier Booker to take a step forward. Unfortunately, that did not happen. His offense left a lot to be desired, finishing with five points and three rebounds. But it was his defense, and four fouls, that troubled me the most.

He was slow moving his feet and couldn’t corral some easy rebounds either. I also saw Booker just choose to not box out a few times. Fans have been frustrated at his lack of playing time this year, but Thursday’s game showed a little bit why Tom Izzo hasn’t been playing him. Izzo said it best about Booker in his postgame interview, saying, “On the offensive end, there’s no issues. On the defensive end, he’s just got to improve.”

Overall, when you win a Big Ten game by this much, it’s hard to be too negative. The boys are playing great basketball and it’s fun to watch them again.

The Spartans are back in action Sunday night as they travel to Northwestern to take on the Wildcats.