Michigan State Basketball: 3 quick reactions to dominant win over Butler

2. Max Christie is starting to find his game

Max Christie is an elite freshman playing big minutes for the Spartans this season. He did not come out of the gate scoring at will in the first two games like everyone expected, though. He only finished six points and nine points in those contests.

In the first true road game, in a hostile environment, Christie looked comfortable.

Christie was not forcing anything and finished with a season-high and almost a game-high 18 points. He missed out on that accolade by one point to teammate Gabe Brown. Christie, though, was showing why he was a sought-after recruit by Tom Izzo, shooting 2-for-4 from deep, 6-for-9 from the field, and was getting to the line for free points making 4-for-5 of those.

Christie let the game come to him. Being so early in the season and him being a freshmen makes that even more impressive. You see a lot of times that freshmen will force things and not be patient for the right shot. Instead, he was able to slow things down when driving and use his body to give him a good shot and an and-one.

The former five-star will only continue to get better as he gets more time with in-game experience. He will be able to make a name for himself like so many other great shooting guards that Izzo has had in the past like Bryn Forbes, Travis Trice, and so many others. To do this on an away floor makes this so exciting to see what is to come with Christie.