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

Starters: A-

If you’re looking for a bright spot from this one, just look at the starters. Michigan State may arguably have the most complete starting five in the nation, along with Duke.

Forget the final score for a second and just look at the performances from Cassius Winston, Josh Langford, Nick Ward, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges. Each of them played well, with some exceptions, and kept the Spartans in the game even when Duke jumped out to 10-point leads.

Let’s start with Bridges. Yes, he needs to be more aggressive when taking the ball to the rim and creating for himself. Grayson Allen’s performance should open Bridges’ eyes a bit, but he did finish with 19 points, five rebounds and four blocks. He also made 5-of-10 threes. He turned the ball over five times, though.

Jackson Jr. was the man on Tuesday. He made 3-of-5 shots from deep and finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. He, too, had turnovers issues, though, finishing with four. He will learn from his mistakes, but he looked like a budding superstar.

Ward was also a beast for the Spartans, finishing with 19 points and five rebounds in only 18 minutes. He’s been extremely effective in limited time, due to fouls, this season but he needs to work on moving his feet better on defense. He was nearly impossible to guard against Duke.

Lastly, Winston and Langford didn’t have their best games, by any means, but they still kept the Spartans in the game. For example, Winston had just three points, but his 11 assists were the shot in the arm that the team needed. Langford must shoot better than 3-for-9 moving forward. Time to get him going.