Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from sloppy win over Detroit Mercy

Michigan State basketball didn’t look focused on Friday night as the Spartans were on upset alert. What did we learn from this one?

For 40 minutes, Detroit Mercy gave Michigan State all it could handle at Breslin Center. The Spartans took an eight-point lead in the first half and looked like they were going to run away with it, but they trailed by five at one point in the second half. They ended up rallying and winning 83-76.

Does anyone feel good about this win? Maybe the fans who were dreading an upset for the entirety of the second half, but no, not really. Tom Izzo has to be seething and preaching the “this is why you don’t read your own headlines” mantra.

Michigan State is now 4-0, but for some reason, this game was far more stressful than the first three combined.

What did we learn from the Spartans’ Friday night win?

3. Julius Marble is contributing big minutes

Once again, Julius Marble came into the game, contributed big minutes off the bench and sparked some energy into the lineup.

In fact, the sophomore big man finished with nine points and five rebounds and had a huge and-one late in the second half when Michigan State was only up by one. He made 4-of-7 shots from the floor and he’s beginning to look like a guy who could see the floor extensively moving forward.

With post play still somewhat lacking and there being no true identity at the five, Marble could swipe some minutes from guys like Thomas Kithier and Marcus Bingham Jr.

Over the past two games, Marble is averaging 10.5 points and 3.5 rebounds. He’s pushing for a spot in the rotation.