Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from Battle 4 Atlantis showing

1. Michigan State is slowly turning the corner

Heading into the season, no one knew what to expect from this Spartan squad. They had lost some key players like Aaron Henry and no one was proving they would take the next step. They came out in the Champions Classic and competed with No. 3 Kansas for the first 30 minutes and ended up losing by 13.

They came out strong against No 22. UConn and got off to an early 14-point lead. Going into halftime, they had the lead but in the second half slowly gave it up. However, they did not let that get the best of them this time and pulled out a victory to force a matchup against No. 6 Baylor in the championship game.

They were in the Baylor game for the first half before fatigue and a lack of depth got the best of them. They did not make the proper adjustments and let Baylor pull away. However, they stayed strong and made it to the championship game when no one knew what this team could handle.

These Spartans are slowly turning the page heading into December and the Big Ten Play. They need to find a little more consistency and need to learn to not turn the ball over at such as high rate but these Spartans can play.

The freshmen are, well, freshmen. They have not been able to find their full rhythm at the collegiate level yet. We have seen glimpses from Jaden Akins and Max Christie but they are still getting the feel of it. Akins had his coming-out party in Atlantis against Baylor. He did not let the bigger and better team scare him away.

They will find their groove and be reliable players once Big Ten play starts.

Michigan State is showing that it will not be run off the floor by any major team and are still the powerhouse that Tom Izzo has built in the last 24 season. This gives fans confidence that these Spartans will still be able to hang with Big Ten contenders like Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, or Ohio State.