Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from gritty win over Oakland

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Dec 21, 2021; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Marcus Bingham Jr. (30) celebrates with guard A.J. Hoggard (11) after a play during the first half against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

2. We’re starting to see the “great shooting” team Izzo was talking about

All offseason, Tom Izzo touted this squad as potentially one of the best shooting teams that he’s had in East Lansing. It was incredibly high praise given the fact that he’s had a ton of really good shooting teams, and early on in the season and in the exhibition, it seemed like he had misread these Spartans.

Michigan State was an average shooting team and didn’t exactly excel in any area on the floor. Gabe Brown was the best shooter much like he was last season, but outside of him, Joey Hauser, Max Christie, Tyson Walker, Malik Hall, and AJ Hoggard all struggled with confidence when shooting the ball.

That has changed drastically over the past couple of weeks.

And on Tuesday night, the Spartans shot 55 percent from the floor and 39 percent from deep. It was a solid night for this team as guys like Christie, Jaden Akins, Hall, Walker, and Hoggard all found their strokes. They all made up for Brown who struggled mightily from 3-point range and shot nearly 40 percent from deep and 55 percent from the floor.

If this offense continues to trend in this direction, Michigan State might just end up as the best team in the Big Ten this year.

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