1. MSU should heed one lesson from win over San Jose State
Michigan State lost control of Thursday’s game against San Jose State in the second half because the Spartans lost the edge that allowed them to build a massive halftime advantage. That ought to be a reminder for this team that they’re good enough to out-muscle and outclass teams like San Jose State, but not so offensively gifted that they can do it without constant focus and grit.
We saw that in the first half Thursday from the Spartans from East Lansing. The Spartans from the Bay Area looked mostly overmatched, other than guard Colby Garland and forward Yaphet Moundi. Then MSU lost a little intensity and San Jose State got comfortable. MSU’s secret sauce this season is intensity and focus — with its team defense, its rebounding and its running. MSU isn’t good enough in other areas from what we’ve seen to do it differently.
Even in this game, as San Jose State pulled to within 15 with an 8-0 run to start the second half, MSU stopped the bleeding with a Jaxon Kohler rebound, which turned into a Jeremy Fears fast break and a Carson Cooper alley-oop dunk. That’s this MSU team’s go-to offense — Kohler on the glass, Fears on the break, Coen Carr or Cooper rim-running. At some point, that break also needs to include a shooting guard on the wing ready to knock down a 3.
MSU won without too much stress, 79-60, because they found it again late and San Jose State wore down. MSU can do that to teams with Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, two guys who’ve grown up into a serious front court. Kohler had 17 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks Thursday. Cooper had 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals.
This MSU team sometimes looks like a more talented version of Tom Izzo’s first team, 30 years ago, relying on the relentlessness of big men and forwards, an occasional 3, and team defense that, when it’s locked in, is elite stuff. We’ve seen some of that from MSU against Arkansas and in the first half against San Jose State.
As long as they bring that each time out, they won’t be upset by any of their mid-major opponents. It’s truly a choice. Because in terms of physical force on the glass and length and seasoning defensively inside, this MSU team has advantages some other recent MSU teams haven’t.
2. Fears could lead the Big Ten in assists
Jeremy Fears Jr. has 28 assists through three games thus far, with at least nine in each game, including nine on Thursday. And that’s with MSU missing a good percentage of its outside shots.
Last season, Purdue’s Braden Smith — who’s back — led the league, averaging 8.7 assists. Fears was third at 5.4, with Penn State’s Ace Baldwin in between at 7.1. Baldwin is out of eligibility, so this could be a showdown between Fears and Smith, and perhaps Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau, who is averaging 10.5 through two games, though had an outlier game with 14.
It’s early, but Fears’ consistency through three games, without the Spartans having a fantastic shooting night, tells you he’s going to be between 8-10 assists most nights. That’ll give him a shot.
Also, if he keeps this pace, Fears will comfortably break Cassius Winston’s 2018-19 MSU single-season assist record. It’s early. But he’s off to a nice start.
3. Kur Teng shows some life and shooting
I don’t know if this season is going to play out how Kur Teng imagined it. Even if it doesn’t, he’s an important player for this MSU basketball team. Because he’s the purest shooter on a team that can struggle to shoot. And he plays the position that’s the biggest question mark on the roster. MSU is better if he’s at least a reliable 12-to-15-minute per game spark off the bench.
Teng’s had a rough start to this season. He got his mojo back for a little while on Thursday night. That’s important. That’s what these games between bigger showdowns are good for. MSU’s chances of beating Kentucky next Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden are better if Teng is a confident player, and if he’s able to knock in a couple 3-pointers. There’s a better chance of that happening after Thursday, when he hit some shots and played meaningful minutes late in the second half.
We saw what Teng do when he can do well Thursday — the catch-and-shoots from beyond the arc or coming off screens from 17 feet. He’s hit several jumpers this season that barely moved the net. It’s a pretty shot. MSU could use some more pretty shooting. Teng had 10 points in the first half, including a couple 3s, before air-balling the only 3 he took in the second half and missing a pull-up jumper from the free-throw line late. He also had two assists and no turnovers, including passing up a shot to get Jaxon Kohler a more open look.
MSU needs Teng to keep letting it fly with confidence and in rhythm, and to be solid enough in other areas that he earns enough time to do that. That he was in the game in the final minutes is a sign he’s doing that.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
