Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from season-opening win over EMU

1. This team could be elite offensively

No Cassius Winston? Minimal problems. We get it, it’s only Eastern Michigan so you can’t put a ton of stock into this win for the Spartans, but it was the way this Michigan State team played on the offensive end that was impressive.

It was the shooting that stood out as the Spartans made nine threes in the first half and while they didn’t shoot as many in the second half, they were effective.

Not only did the Spartans shoot well, they worked the ball around that Eastern Michigan zone with ease. Guys like Foster Loyer, Joey Hauser and Aaron Henry were finding the soft spots in the defense and finding open guys. Sure, there were some ugly turnovers, but the offense wore down the Eastern defense because of this prolific passing.

This is just what Tom Izzo-coached teams do.

Passing and shooting at a high rate is a recipe for success and this Michigan State offense did plenty of that, although I would have liked to see more of it in the second half.