Tre Holloman the main reason Michigan State beat Maryland

Tre Holloman is the main reason that Michigan State was able to beat Maryland on the road Sunday to improve to .500 in the Big Ten.

Michigan State basketball needed this win against Maryland. The Spartans struggled big time to start the season and have been close to finally turning a corner, but the one thing holding them back was winning on the road.

The Spartans changed all that on Sunday by beating Maryland 61-59. This is Michigan State’s first road win of the season and brings the Spartans’ Big Ten record up to 4-4. After starting 1-4, this is an amazing turnaround.

A lot of guys deserve credit for the win over Maryland, but none more than Tre Holloman.

Tre Holloman shines in win over Maryland

Tre Holloman had one of his best all around games of his career on Sunday at Maryland. He finished the day with 12 points, one rebound and one assist. He was also lights out from beyond the arc, shooting 3-for-4 from deep including 3-for-3 in the first half.

Not only did he play well offensively, but he was arguably even better defensively. Everyone remembers his game-sealing defensive stop as time expired. With MSU up two, Maryland was driving with a chance to win or tie the game. That is until Holloman poked the ball free to end the game. This was one of the biggest plays of the game, but Tre was lights out defensively all night.

One of Maryland’s best players is Jahmir Young, who is an all Big Ten player and top 20 scorer in the country. Holloman absolutely shut him down, especially late in the game, which helped Michigan State weather the Terps’ momentum and get the lead back. On a night when MSU couldn’t get its offense going in the second half, this defense is what turned the tide.

The importance of Holloman to this team

It’s easy to point to guys like AJ Hoggard or Tyson Walker as the more important players to this team, and maybe they still are. But Holloman is starting to work his way up on that pecking order.

Here’s an interesting stat for you: Michigan State is 9-0 this season when Holloman scores at least six points. If that doesn’t tell you how important he is then nothing will.

I would argue that Holloman could be a starter on most teams in the country. His offensive game is really starting to take shape and his defending has been lights out. To have a guy like him coming off the bench is just wild to me. I can’t wait to see what he does next season when he gets more time as a starter.

Michigan State needs a lot of guys to keep playing well to keep their season going in the right direction. But Tre Holloman announcing himself to the college basketball world as one of the best sixth men in the country is one reason why the Spartans’ season is vastly improving.