Michigan State Basketball puts together complete performance in win over Penn State

Michigan State basketball continues to roll towards another big March after dismantling Penn State at the Breslin Center.

Michigan State basketball turned in one of its most complete performances of the season on Sunday afternoon against Penn State, racing out to a comfortable early lead and never looking back. Although the Nittany Lions came into East Lansing on a three-game win streak with recent victories over the Iowa Hawkeyes and Indiana Hoosiers, they never put a scare into the sixth-ranked Spartans.

Michigan State out-rebounded Penn State by a 51-33 margin, shot 45.5 percent from three-point range, got its big men involved early and often and got to the free-throw line routinely. They also kept the Nittany Lions from getting on any large runs that might have made the game more contested.

It was a performance that the MSU coaching staff can point to at practice in the coming weeks when they need to remind the Spartans of their massive potential when they put all of these elements together.

While there was a lot to like about Michigan State’s blowout win, there is one facet of the game that remains a question mark: free-throw shooting.

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The Spartans’ 33 free-throw attempts against the Nittany Lions represent an encouraging sign for a team that hasn’t got to the line very often this season, but that total was also aided by a few technical fouls given to the Penn State bench. Furthermore, MSU missed eleven of those attempts, leaving valuable points on the line that will be crucial in tighter games in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

Still, despite this, there was little to be critical of MSU’s performance on Sunday. Freshman Deyonta Davis, who only scored ten points in his last three games combined, was effective on both the offensive and defensive ends, scoring 15 points and blocking three shots in just 18 minutes.

Senior Matt Costello, who was criticized for his lack of effort in MSU’s last game against Ohio State, added 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks of his own in 19 minutes of play. While MSU didn’t need a big shooting performance from Bryn Forbes like it did against the Buckeyes, the senior was still able to put up 15 points in limited action.

With such a controlled lead, Michigan State was also able to give valuable rest to its starters and playing time to its reserves. Marvin Clark Jr. and Javon Bess, both of whom have seen limited playing time this season despite being key contributors last season, were able to get off the bench for decent stretches against PSU. Lourwals “Tum Tum” Nairn also got some key time on the court, playing the most minutes (14) in a game since he returned from his lingering plantar fasciitis injury on February 14.

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While Michigan State came into the contest having won seven of its previous eight games, none of those victories were quite as well-rounded as Sunday’s against Penn State. It’s that kind of effort that MSU will need if it hopes to live up to its massive expectations in March.

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