Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from dominant win over Brown

EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 10: A.J. Hoggard #11 of the Michigan State Spartans of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates in the second half against the Brown Bears at Breslin Center on December 10, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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Dec 10, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard A.J. Hoggard (11) dribbles past Brown Bears guard Dan Friday (1) at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-USA TODAY Sports /

2. AJ Hoggard has become a legitimate offensive threat

Another development that’s happened this year is AJ Hoggard adding a jumper to his repertoire. He was not great in that department a year ago and defenses were able to sag off him and focus more on other offensive threats. That also made it tougher for Hoggard to blow by defenders to the basket.

Now, he’s making mid-range jumpers and even his 3-point game is nice. He’s still a work in progress on the deep ball, but his form looks vastly improved.

Hoggard had 23 points against Penn State and shot 8-for-16 from the floor and he followed that up with a 6-for-12 performance against Brown with 17 points. Him being able to shoot the ball from anywhere forces defenses to account for him and it’ll automatically create mismatches somewhere on the floor.

We’re seeing the development of a player happen before our very eyes. With Joey Hauser becoming more well-rounded as well as Hoggard, this team is shaping up nicely for when Jaden Akins is 100 percent and Malik Hall comes back from injury.

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