Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from first-round win over Bucknell

DETROIT, MI - MARCH 16: Xavier Tillman #23 and Jaren Jackson Jr. #2 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrate during the second half against the Bucknell Bison in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 16, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 16: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans high fives teammates during the second half against the Bucknell Bison in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 16, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

4. Xavier Tillman has earned more minutes

Watching Xavier Tillman’s growth is a thing of beauty. He has gone from lightly-used fifth-option big man to first off the bench. In fact, he played the most minutes of any bench player on Friday night, racking up 19 to Nick Ward’s 17.

Granted, he played more than Ward because of a neck injury the starter suffered in the second half on an ill-advised alley-oop pass from Cassius Winston. He was cleared to return, but Tom Izzo didn’t take any chances.

Tillman played well in his 19 minutes of action, scoring six points, grabbing five rebounds, blocking six shots and stealing a pass. He has proven to be a menace on the defensive side of the ball and he’s running the court well to contribute on fast-breaks.

The freshman big man is looking more like a building block for the future with each game and Friday’s performance had to make fans feel good about the future. He’s looking like a future All-Big Ten first-teamer and this tournament run is crucial to his growth.

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