Michigan State basketball: 5 takeaways from clutch road win over Florida

Michigan State basketball marched into Gainesville and escaped with a win over Florida. What’d we learn about the Spartans’ clutch victory?

Michigan State had yet another road scare on Saturday afternoon as the Spartans and Gators went down to the wire in Gainesville. No one expected a big victory over the Gators on Saturday, but against a Florida offense that was nothing short of mediocre, the Spartans struggled more than Tom Izzo would have hoped.

The Spartans improved to 8-2 overall and are 2-0 in Big Ten play with three more non-conference games standing between them and an 11-2 mark before conference action returns.

What’d we learn from the Spartans’ big win?

5. Kyle Ahrens was the unlikely hero

It seems like Michigan State has a new hero each time it takes the court, and that’s the recipe for a title-contending team. The Spartans got some great play from Kyle Ahrens in the final three minutes of play, scoring seven huge points in the final three minutes.

It all started with a big 3-pointer to extend the Spartans’ lead. Then it was a driving reverse layup and then it was the big dunk to push the lead to four with under 10 seconds remaining.

People may not realize just how impressive that game-clinching dunk with the shot clock expiring was. Let’s recap.

I mean, wow. The kid was calm as a cucumber in the final seconds of the game and that’s a sign of a true leader.

This kid has earned his minutes and you can bet this won’t be the last time Ahrens played the role of hero on Saturday afternoon.