3. The rust has been shaken off
In the first half of Tuesday's win, Michigan State looked like a team that had 10 days off in between games. That's not a compliment in the least.
Sometimes teams can get long breaks and look refreshed and ready to go when they finally take the court again, but the opposite effect occurred for Michigan State. The Spartans found themselves in a rock fight with a 3-5 team from the Horizon League and one that had one of the worst offenses in college basketball, averaging just over 60 points per game.
But the second half was a much different story.
Shots weren't falling early, rebounds weren't being corralled, and the offense looked disjointed and clunky. That all changed in the second half as the Spartans out-scored Oakland 46-28 en route to a blowout win and it felt like the rust only took one half to be shaken off. That's a good sign moving forward.
Fortunately this long break was ended with a matchup against Oakland instead of someone like Ohio State (the first Big Ten team MSU faces after non-conference play ends). Now the team can focus on keeping the momentum going and getting that offense hot again.