Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from blowout win over Minnesota

Minnesota was no match for a red-hot Michigan State basketball team on Tuesday night. What’d we learn from the blowout win?

Michigan State sure didn’t look like a 3-seed on Tuesday night in a blowout win over Minnesota. Winning on the road in the Big Ten isn’t easy, but winning by 30 points away from home is almost unheard of.

The Golden Gophers have been struggling mightily and were far from full-strength on Tuesday, but you can’t knock a win like that on the road. Michigan State still has work to do, but it has officially recorded its best start in school history with a 25-3 record.

What’d we learn from Michigan State’s win over Minnesota?

5. Matt McQuaid is the sixth man MSU needs

Another game, another 20-plus minute performance from Matt McQuaid with a few 3-pointers mixed in. The junior guard has been excellent for the Spartans lately and he’s become just what the Spartans need off the bench: a true sixth man.

Through the first two-plus months of the season, McQuaid was hesitant to look for his own shot, but that seems to be a thing of the past. He’s attempted at least five shots in each of the last four games, making 12-of-22 attempts and 60 percent of his 3-pointers.

Michigan State needs McQuaid to play big minutes off the bench — that could be one of the main keys to success. In fact, the Spartans are 15-0 on the year when McQuaid plays over 20 minutes off the bench. He averages 9.1 points — up from his season mark of 6.6 points — in those games as well.

Not only is he hitting his shots at a higher rate lately and becoming a nice scoring option off the bench, but he has also improved his defense.

Against Minnesota, he continued that improvement as his quickness on that end of the court has become evident. He looks like more of a defensive stopper and now an all-around quality sixth man.