Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from loss to No. 1 Kansas

1. Second-half Michigan State was encouraging

If you turned the game off at halftime and went to bed, you probably got the worst possible impression from the 2018-19 Spartans. Michigan State trailed 50-36 — thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Kyle Ahrens — and it looked awful on both ends of the court. There were very few positives to take from the half.

The second half was much different. Outside of turnovers, which arguably cost the Spartans their massive comeback, Michigan State looked like a new and improved team, hitting its shots from long-range and capitalizing on Kansas misses.

The Spartan defense was more smothering, though it did still allow 42 Kansas points in the final 20 minutes — many on free throws — and the offense began to click in the half court. Josh Langford, Kenny Goins and Cassius Winston all stepped up and Matt McQuaid and Kyle Ahrens added some instant offense as well.

Michigan State’s second half was encouraging and if the team can play like it did in the final 20 minutes against Kansas moving forward, it will be difficult to beat.

With that being said, the freshmen may need a couple of months to adjust to the collegiate level in terms of speed, strength and size — namely Foster Loyer and Marcus Bingham Jr.