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Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from tight win at Maryland

By Connor Muldowney

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Malik Hall #25 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Max Christie #5 after scoring the game winning basket late in the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on February 01, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. Michigan State won the game 65-63. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Malik Hall #25 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates with Max Christie #5 after scoring the game winning basket late in the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on February 01, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. Michigan State won the game 65-63. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball had to hold on to beat a pesky Maryland team on Tuesday night, escaping with a two-point win thanks to Malik Hall.

Winning on the road in the Big Ten isn’t easy, and Michigan State basketball has found that out over its past two games away from the Breslin Center.

On Tuesday night, the Spartans built a 15-point lead over the Terrapins before Maryland stormed back and tied things up before Malik Hall hit a game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds left. The Spartans’ win improves them to 17-4 overall and 8-2 in the Big Ten.

Maryland drops to 11-11, but you have to credit the Terrapins for fighting back to make things interesting at the end. It looked like the Spartans were landing some knockout blows in the second half but Maryland refused to go away.

What’d we learn from this tight road win?

3. Gabe Brown needs to get going soon

Another game, another quiet Gabe Brown performance. Michigan State simply cannot afford to have its senior leader to continue slumping.

When Brown is struggling, that just takes away another important scoring option for the Spartans. On the road when buckets are already hard to come by, getting just five points on 1-of-7 shooting from the floor from a guy who was supposed to be the team’s best shooter this year hurts.

Fortunately, Joey Hauser played really well for a second straight game, scoring 10 points and grabbing five boards, but Brown cannot rely on other guys to keep picking him up. He needs to be that guy who the Spartans relied on earlier in the season who could go on 8-10 point scoring runs on his own.

Five points on one field goal in seven attempts on the road is not going to cut it against better teams.

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