Tuesday was all about Pat Fitzgerald, but even the new head football coach had to be gushing over the play of Michigan State basketball against Iowa in the Big Ten opener.
The Spartans dominated essentially from start to finish, downing the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes, coached by Ben McCollum, on Tuesday night, 71-52. The Spartans improve to 8-0 on the season and now begin Big Ten play 1-0. This was a nice confidence-booster heading into Saturday's showdown with No. 4 Duke.
Michigan State was without Cam Ward, but it didn't matter. The Spartans were looking good on both ends of the floor, and this was one of the most cohesive wins that I can remember.
Here's what I thought stood out on Tuesday night.
1. This team is full of leaders
Michigan State has Jeremy Fears Jr., and that alone makes this one of the best-led teams in the country. But the Spartans also have guys like Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, and even some younger role players who all hold each other accountable.
Kohler said it after the win during his post-game interview, this teams studies mistakes. He went right to the stat sheet after the win to see what the team needed to do better -- in a 19-point Big Ten win. That's what a leader does.
We haven't seen a team with this many true leaders in a while.
2. Depth continues to impress
Just like last year, Michigan State can do a full substitution and not see a crazy drop-off. Yes, there's a clear difference between Jeremy Fears Jr. at point, but when Divine Ugochukwu and even Denham Wojcik enter thame game, you don't feel like the other team is going to go on a huge run.
The Spartans have improved every single game, and that includes the role players who are coming off the bench. No Ward? No problem. Jordan Scott and Jesse McCulloch saw their minutes increase and they both seized the opportunity. Scott had six points, five rebounds (three offensive), two steals, and an assist. McCulloch had nine points and two rebounds.
Ugochukwu played well and so did Wojcik, proving that this team will be just fine with this depth.
3. Defense wins championships
There was something about Tuesday night that scremed early-2000s Michigan State basketball, and it wasn't just the throwback jerseys. It was the elite defensive performance.
The Spartans just keep getting better on that end of the floor. They suffocated Bennett Stirtz and the Hawkeyes for 40 minutes, holding a team that has averaged 80-plus point per game to just 52.
This is yet another elite defensive performance against a power conference team. The Spartans held Arkansas to 66, Kentucky to 66, North Carolina to 58, and now Iowa to 52. It's incredible what a total team defensive effort can do.
Defense wins championships, so we should be pretty excited about the ceiling of this team.