Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from huge win over No. 22 UConn

1. This team is better than we thought

Honestly, I was ready to count this team out when they fell behind 55-48 with about four minutes left. And even when it was 60-55, I wasn’t feeling great about this team’s chances, but I have to start believing that this team has what it takes to find ways to win. The defense was great, but the offense got stagnant for a bit which let UConn get back into it.

The Huskies took advantage of some ugly turnovers, poor rebounding, and poor shot selection by the Spartans to get back into the game, but Michigan State controlled the first half and it took about 30 minutes for UConn to take its first lead.

Michigan State didn’t panic when down by seven and then just chipped away and held on for a big win against the No. 22 team in the country to improve to 5-1 on the year.

Sitting at 5-1 with a ranked win and a Battle 4 Atlantis title game berth against Baylor (most likely) should be enough to get the Spartans into the rankings next week no matter what happens in the championship. This team has exceeded expectations early this season and let’s be honest, the Spartans didn’t look all that outmatched against Kansas in the opener.

Cut the turnovers, avoid mid-game lulls, take better shots, and rebound more consistently and you have a true Final Four threat here.

Shooting just 30 percent in the second half and finding a way to win against a team that shot 60 percent is impressive. Michigan State is better than we thought.