Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from blowout win over Oakland

Michigan State basketball took care of Oakland on Friday evening in East Lansing emphatically. What did we learn from the Spartans’ win?

Another game is in the books as Michigan State basketball inches closer to the conclusion of non-conference play with a win over Oakland, 99-69.

Friday night’s victory over the Grizzlies had to make Tom Izzo feel good going into a small holiday break for the team before facing Northern Illinois, but he was unhappy with some of his guards’ defending and wanted to end on a high note on that end of the court.

Offensively, the Spartans were impressive, to say the least. They finished with 27 assists to just seven turnovers and ran like a well-oiled machine — emphasis on ‘ran’.

Michigan State is now 10-2 on the year while Oakland dropped to 4-9 and the Spartans learned more about themselves after the big win.

5. Gabe Brown has earned more minutes

All aboard the Gabe Brown bandwagon before it gets too full. The freshman wing has played minimally thus far in his Michigan State career, averaging 5.7 minutes in 10 games played.

Though he hasn’t seen the floor much, he’s making the most of his time, averaging 3.4 points and shooting 77 percent from the floor and 70 percent from long range. No, that percentage is not sustainable, but it is impressive, nonetheless.

The first-year player saw just five more minutes against Oakland on Friday, making his only shot — and his shooting motion is so smooth.

Brown has earned more minutes with his spark ability off the bench and even though he’s not the biggest guy and his defense could improve, he’s looking like a solid 7-8 player off the bench.