The annual way-too-close Oakland game took place on Saturday afternoon, and Michigan State basketball held on for a 79-70 win at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Michigan State was up as much as 12 points, but the Grizzlies just hung around for way too long and made things uncomfortable. I’m sure Tom Izzo was not pleased with this close win over his good friend Greg Kampe, but maybe he’ll ignore it because he’s in the Christmas spirit (just look at his sweater).
What did we learn from this sleepy win?
1. The 3-point defense has been lazy lately
Izzo has been unhappy with his team’s 3-point defense over the past few games, and I know he can’t be thrilled with what took place on Saturday afternoon. Michigan State gave up a lot of open threes, and the Grizzlies finished 10-for-22 from 3-point range. That was the only reason Oakland was still in the game.
The 3-point defense needs to figure it out, because Big Ten teams aren’t going to let this lazy perimeter defense go without being punished.
2. Kur Teng looks like the best option at the two
Maybe I’m reading too much into the past few games, but Kur Teng has looked like Michigan State’s best option at the two. Divine Ugochukwu was a ghost for the second straight game, finishing with no points, no assists, and a rebound in 13 minutes. Trey Fort hit a three, but he, too, was rather ineffective.
Teng has been good for three straight games, and he’s been effective in four of the past five, but it’ll be interesting to see if Izzo makes a change in the starting five after Christmas. He finished with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting and he also had five assists.
Give me Ugochukwu as the backup point guard and Teng as the starting two-guard.
3. The Spartans need to wake up
I might be a little nit-picky or annoying about this, but it felt like Michigan State didn’t come to play on Saturday afternoon. Is it because this was the last game before Christmas or because the Spartans took a 6-6 Oakland team a little too lightly? It could’ve been a combination of the two.
Either way, the performance was just disappointing.
Michigan State was able to hold on for a 79-70 win, but it felt like the defense was lazy, the offense was disjointed, and the fast-break was halted by Oakland’s defense.
Since the Duke game, it has felt like Michigan State has played down to opponents, and that switch needs to be flipped after Christmas when Big Ten play resumes.