Michigan State basketball shows grit, potential amid glaring flaws in loss to No. 1 Kansas

Posted by Admin November 13, 2024 Basketball

ATLANTA – Tom Izzo put on his glasses and scanned the stat sheet.

He didn’t need his readers – or a piece of paper – to know going 3-for-24 on 3-point attempts proved problematic. But there were a number of promising moments for Michigan State basketball in a 77-69 loss to No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic.

And plenty of negatives beyond the continued outside shooting doldrums.

“We played a very good team, we were right in the game most of the way,” Izzo said in the aftermath inside State Farm Arena. “But there’s some positives that come out of this. And now we’ve got to figure out how to make some shots.”

An upside? The Spartans (2-1) fiercely scrapped and clawed all night against the Jayhawks (3-0), showing character-defining grit. They trailed by 10 just once, in the waning seconds of the first half, and tied it five times in the second half. Even though they never could fully take advantage of Kansas’ own offensive struggles.

“I think this group will never back down,” said senior transfer Frankie Fidler, who led MSU with 15 points and added eight rebounds. “We got tough guys, and I think our will to win is high. But I think tonight, it came down to missing those shots that didn’t get us over that hump.”

A downside? MSU’s starters went a meager 9-for-36 between them for just 35 points and 16 rebounds. Fidler went 3-for-12, Jaden Akins was 1-for-8 with just two points. Xavier Booker missed all five of his shots and finished scoreless.

“When we tied it, we just would end up taking a bad shot or missing a shot, and they will come down and get fouled or score and kind of stop the momentum every time,” Akins said. “So you just gotta find a way to get over that hump when you got the game right there.”

Another plus? MSU’s reserves outscored Kansas’ bench, 39-15, and grabbed 23 of the team’s 43 rebounds.

Junior forward Jaxon Kohler put together his second straight double-double, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the second half and grabbing 10 rebounds. Freshman Jase Richardson continued his strong start to his career as a Spartan, delivering momentary momentum just before halftime with a four-point play and scoring eight points with three rebounds. Carson Cooper added six points and five boards, while Coen Carr scored eight points off the bench.

“Every game, there’s gonna be positives and negatives,” Kohler said. “I feel like that the positive in this game is that, even though we didn’t shoot particularly well from the outside, we didn’t let that affect us. We kept fighting.”

Another minus? Booker’s ongoing slump to start his sophomore season.

The 6-foot-11 sophomore, a former five-star recruit, is now 5-for-22 overall and 1-for-11 from 3-point range while starting the Spartans’ first three games. He has yet to attempt a free throw and has just eight rebounds in 50 minutes of court time. Booker played 13 minutes and sat the final 16:56 against the Jayhawks. He and Akins each had only one rebound.

“Book will be fine. He’s making progress,” Izzo said. “If he makes a couple of those 3s, we’re all sitting there happy with him and he probably plays a little more because he had, I think, wide open 3s. I don’t think he had one that wasn’t wide open.”

Despite offering some pointed criticism, Izzo also staunchly defended his young forward.

“Book missed wide open shot after shot, which I don’t care about, I really don’t,” Izzo said. “But then not guarding and not rebounding – in (14) minutes to get one rebound, he’s just got to rebound better. He’s got to do something. …

“He’s not where everybody wants him to be yet. It wasn’t his fault that somebody projected him certain ways. He’s a good player and he’s a really talented kid, and he’s going to get there. It’s just the process is taking a little longer.”

MSU also showed improving tenacity in attacking the basket, making 18 of 21 free-throw attempts. Fidler went 8-for-8. The Spartans have gotten to the line 73 times and making 76.7% through three games.

Yet Tuesday will ultimately come back to the Spartans’ 21 missed 3-pointers. A third straight game and second straight season with brutal perimeter shooting to begin the year.

MSU is shooting a dismal 20% (12-for-60) from behind the arc so far this season. Izzo’s team opened the 2023-24 campaign making just 17.5% of its 3-pointers through the first four games before making 38.1% over the final 31 games. On Tuesday, Akins, Fidler and Booker combined to go just 1 of 14 from deep. Kohler went 1-for-5 from outside. Junior Tre Holloman missed all three of his 3-point attempts and struggled all night (2-for-7 for five points, two assists, two turnovers and one rebound in 11 minutes).

“I mean, I feel like we got great shots. We just missed them,” Akins said. “Missed them all, for real.”

Some words of encouragement, however, came from a surprising source, considering his history of histrionics with the Spartans: Kansas center and former Michigan star Hunter Dickinson, who had game highs with 28 points with 12 rebounds.

“We beat a Michigan State team that probably will end up in the top 25. Obviously, they’re not there right now, but they’re a really good team,” Dickinson said when asked about the Jayhawks’ less-than-stellar showing Tuesday. “Playing a Coach Izzo team, he’s going to have them prepared for the No. 1 team in the country. We knew coming in we weren’t going to be able to blow them out. They play really hard, they execute their stuff. He’s a Hall of Fame coach, too. He’s going to get his guys ready.”

Fixing the flaws becomes a priority for Izzo and his players as they return home to face Bowling Green on Saturday (6 p.m./BTN) then host Samford next Tuesday. Those are tune-ups before the Spartans head to the three-day Maui Invitational that starts Nov. 25, with more top-tier talent there, including two-time defending national champion Connecticut and North Carolina.

Three chances in Hawaii to show Tuesday’s near miss was a learning lesson and not a prolonged pattern before Big Ten play begins in early December.

“It’s definitely tough. (The Jayhawks) are supposed to be the No. 1 team in the country. And we didn’t play great, but we were right there,” Akins said. “That shows that we got a pretty good team and room for improvement.”

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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