Michigan State Basketball: Report card for dominant win at Minnesota
Bench
Aaron Henry and Marcus Bingham Jr. were sent to the bench for the Minnesota game to make way for Rocket Watts and Malik Hall. It seemed to pay off, but we hardly saw the latter as he struggled to defend the post.
Aaron Henry: B+
The sophomore wing responded to Tom Izzo’s challenge, sparking some life into the bench with his play and he could be one of the league’s top sixth men if this continues. However, it’s tough to imagine him coming off the bench for the rest of the year. He had nine points, four rebounds, four steals and two assists. His four turnovers were the difference between him earning an A- instead of this B+.
Thomas Kithier: C+
It’s been tough to truly grade Thomas Kithier for the past few weeks because he’s been so up and down — even throughout the same game. He will get called for a silly foul and then he’ll make a clutch layup. He did both of those on Sunday and I think the shot he made over Daniel Oturu is enough to earn him a C+ instead of the C that I was going to give him. He had a rebound and two assists, but he has a fouling issue where he seems to pick up 1-2 every time he’s out there.
Foster Loyer: C
Foster Loyer entered the game on Sunday and the offense seemed to stall a bit and while it wasn’t his fault, he’s still the leader of the unit when he’s in there. His passes were a little off and he just looked scattered. He played just eight minutes and was 0-for-2 from the floor.
Julius Marble: C+
It’s nice to see Julius Marble get some minutes because he’s a big body that this team needs if it wants to defend the likes of Oturu, Kofi Cockburn, Jon Teske, Matt Haarms and Trevion Williams and not get totally worn out. He held his own, got beat one time that I remember, and grabbed a couple of rebounds in seven minutes.
Next. 3 takeaways from gritty win at Minnesota. dark
Marcus Bingham Jr.: C
Though Izzo said that minutes wouldn’t be affected by the change in the starting lineup, that didn’t hold true with Marcus Bingham Jr. but it may have had something to do with his struggles defending the post with Oturu. He played five minutes and had a block and a steal on 0-for-2 shooting. He has the potential, but he’s still extremely raw.