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Michigan State Basketball: Report card for blowout road win over Penn State

By Connor Muldowney

COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 5: Head Coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans asks the referees for a foul against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half on January 5, 2019 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Michigan State defeated Ohio State 86-77. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 5: Head Coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans asks the referees for a foul against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half on January 5, 2019 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Michigan State defeated Ohio State 86-77. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball hit the road and took care of Penn State on Sunday night. Who graded the highest in the win over the Nittany Lions?

What teams can overcome the losses of two prominent players to finish with 15-point road wins in conference play the way Michigan State has? Not many, which is what makes this team incredibly special and one that could be in line for a deep March run.

Michigan State is now 6-0 in the Big Ten and 15-2 overall after taking care of Penn State in Happy Valley on Sunday evening, 71-56.

Tom Izzo wasn’t all that pleased with his team’s sloppy play in the win, but even with 17 turnovers, the Spartans controlled the game from start to finish.

Which area of the Spartans’ performance graded the highest?

Bench: B

With a shorted bench due to injuries to Josh Langford and Kyle Ahrens and Aaron Henry in the starting lineup, the bench did a rather solid job.

The offensive output wasn’t at an all-time high with Gabe Brown, Foster Loyer and Xavier Tillman playing extended minutes, but a combined 15 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks is good enough to earn a B grade. Only three players finished with more than a minute off the bench as guys like Thomas Kithier, Marcus Bingham Jr. and Conner George saw just a short amount of court time.

Hanging out a B to a group that didn’t do much wrong seems unfair, but it’s because there were only three guys to judge and they all had above average, but not great, games.

Loyer had one of his best games, scoring seven points with an assist and two rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting, Tillman scored five with seven rebounds and three blocks and Brown had three points and four rebounds.

Solid game for the Spartan reserves, but not a huge sample size.

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