Michigan State Basketball: Report card for Duke loss in Week 2

Michigan State basketball lost a tough one against Duke in the second game of the season. How did the Spartans grade out?

Losing to Duke wasn’t on Tom Izzo’s list of things to do in non-conference play, but he will have Michigan State back and ready to contend with the likes of Oregon and North Carolina in the Phil Knight Invitational next week.

Before that can happen, though, the head coach must watch film of his team’s tough 88-81 loss to the Blue Devils. There’s plenty of room for improvement, but how did the Spartans fare in each facet of the game?

Which aspect of Michigan State’s performance graded the highest on Tuesday?

Bench: C+

Despite having an incredibly deep team, Michigan State didn’t seem to rely much on its bench on Tuesday night. In fact, the Spartans had just one player come off the pine and finish with over 15 minutes and that was Matt McQuaid. He finished with just two points and was 0-for-3 from long range. He needs to be more aggressive shooting the ball.

Kenny Goins played 15 minutes, finishing with four points, three rebounds and two blocks. He played surprisingly well off the bench and proved that he can be a valuable post presence when Nick Ward gets into foul trouble.

Ben Carter played 12 minutes, adding two points, a block and a rebound, but it’s clear he’s still shaking off some of the rust from his year-plus off from basketball. He will start to earn more minutes. Gavin Schilling, too, looked rusty, playing just six minutes and picking up four fouls.

Lastly, Tum Tum Nairn didn’t look half-bad on the court leading the offense off the bench. The backup point guard played 11 minutes and scored on his only shot attempt to go along with six assists. If he can come off the bench and dish out six assists in 11-15 minutes every game, the Spartans will be in great shape.