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Michigan State Basketball: Report card for Champions Classic loss to Kentucky

By Connor Muldowney

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 05: Ashton Hagans #0 of the Kentucky Wildcats and Malik Hall #25 of the Michigan State Spartans battle for the ball during the first half of their game at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 05: Ashton Hagans #0 of the Kentucky Wildcats and Malik Hall #25 of the Michigan State Spartans battle for the ball during the first half of their game at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

Bench

This group of players is going to be just fine, but they had a little bit of deer-in-headlights syndrome on Tuesday night, outside of a few guys.

Gabe Brown: B

If Gabe Brown can shoot the ball like he did in the first half consistently, we are going to see a different animal unleashed. This kid is a sharpshooter and he’s not afraid to drive anymore. He had eight points and three rebounds in 21 minutes while shooting 3-for-10. His defense got better, too.

Kyle Ahrens: B-

Kyle Ahrens did some Kyle Ahrens things, including making a huge three and a hustle play in the second half where he dove on a loose ball and before it could be ruled a jump-ball, he called a timeout. However, he was a little quiet outside of those two plays.

Marcus Bingham Jr.: B+

One of the biggest surprises of the night had to be the play of Marcus Bingham Jr. who showed toughness on the glass, made some defensive plays and even showed up on offense with an alley-oop and two other easy buckets. He would have had two alley-oop scores but one was stolen from him by a missed call. He finished with seven points, six boards and a block.

Malik Hall: C

Malik Hall didn’t have a good game, he didn’t have a bad game. He could be a perfect Kenny Goins replacement but he had a slow start to his freshman year with three rebounds, an assist and a steal with three fouls and no points.

Julius Marble: C

Truly, there wasn’t enough here to give him a good or bad grade. Julius Marble played four minutes and had two rebounds but also turned the ball right back over on one of them. He may get more opportunities soon.

Foster Loyer: C

Like Marble’s grade, this is more because he didn’t play much and it was tough to judge him on three minutes of action. He struggled a bit on the defensive end, but looked more comfortable running the point than he did last year. Will he get more of a run against less athletic teams?

Next. MSU basketball: Game-by-game predictions. dark

The Spartans get Binghamton on Sunday evening at the Breslin Center to break up ranked battles of Kentucky and Seton Hall next week.

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