Michigan State basketball: Report card for big road win at Penn State

Guards: A

I’m very tempted to give this group an A, but it started rather slowly and picked up right before halftime and throughout the second half.

AJ Hoggard had his best game of the year and probably one of his best as a Spartan, scoring a career-high 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting. He still missed some shots close to the hoop that I’d like to see him drain (a layup in the first half comes to mind) but he continues to use his big body for good, getting to the basket and drawing contact. He’s also playing some really solid defense and had a huge block and a crucial steal that led to an and-one.

Does Hoggard get the foul calls that he should? Probably not, but if he continues to drive and draw contact, the calls will come.

Tyson Walker hit some big shots but was relatively quiet despite scoring 14 points. He’s had better games this year, but I still like his aggressive approach. He was just 6-for-15 from the floor, but zero turnovers and solid defense really made up for the 40 percent shooting.

Jaden Akins shook off a little more rust, scoring seven points on 2-for-6 shooting and he was 2-for-3 from deep but it’ll take him a couple more games to really get back to his old self. He added six rebounds and a steal but found himself in foul trouble all night. All around, not a bad game but he’s capable of much more.

Pierre Brooks is more of a guard/forward hybrid but plays on the perimeter mostly and had a tough shooting night (2-for-6 from the floor) but I love that he has a constant green light. Shots will fall for him usually.

Lastly, Tre Holloman played 10 minutes, had a couple of assists, and played solid defense. Love what I’m seeing from the freshman guard.