Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from comfortable FGCU win

EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 11: Joshua Langford #1 of the Michigan State Spartans talks with his teammate Marcus Bungham Jr. #30 of the Michigan State Spartans during a timeout against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at Breslin Center on November 11, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 18: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans passes the ball during the second half against the Syracuse Orange in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 18, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

4. Xavier Tillman, Nick Ward work well together

There seemed to be a reason Kenny Goins was inserted into the starting lineup down low over Xavier Tillman by Tom Izzo and while the senior, and former walk-on, has played well in the first two games, there may be a stronger case to start both.

Why? Because Tillman and Ward work nice together. As surprising as it may be, the two bigs were hitting each other with impressive passes and taking some pressure off each other.

When Ward would draw the typical double-team, he would find Tillman down low for an easy bucket, and vice versa. The two bigs seemed to have created some chemistry in the offseason and they looked like complements to each other against Florida Gulf Coast.

Is this a sign of things to come or a one game anomaly? Hopefully for Izzo, it’s the latter. Even if Tillman continues to come off the bench, Ward won’t have to exit the floor to clear out the post.

It’s not too crowded with the two bigs in there and they are starting to play well together.

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