Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from win over Buffalo

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EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 30: A.J. Hoggard #11 of the Michigan State Spartans and the Michigan State Spartans bench celebrate during the second half against the Buffalo Bulls at Breslin Center on December 30, 2022 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

1. This team can be really good offensively

Prior to this game, Michigan State was averaging just under 70 points per game. The Spartans hadn’t quite broken out offensively since the Kentucky win back in early November, but that all changed even after a sloppy start which saw only one bucket before the under-16 timeout.

After scoring just two points in the first 5:10 of the game, Michigan State broke out and almost scored at will throughout the rest of the first half to head into the locker room with a 41-30 lead.

In the second half, the slow start theme continued, but they shook off an 11-0 run by Buffalo to catch fire and score 48 points in the final 20 minutes.

Obviously the defense has a ton of room for improvement, but the offensive effort was much better by the Spartans on Friday night with better ball movement and limited turnovers. When this team plays clean basketball and makes that extra pass, it’s very tough to beat.

We just haven’t seen a ton of that consistently.

Those 89 points scored against Buffalo felt effortless.

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