With UCLA coming to town on Tuesday night, Michigan State basketball is gearing up to host its second West Coast team this season.
The first West Coast team to come to the Breslin Center this year was USC and the Trojans would probably warn the Bruins that facing an angry Michigan State team coming off a tough road loss is not ideal, but rivals don’t look out for each other like that thankfully.
Michigan State fans just want to see some clean basketball for the first time in weeks.
Here’s what I’d like to see from the Spartans against UCLA, other than a nice ovation for Xavier Booker.
1. A Jaxon Kohler bounce-back
I’ve talked about this a little bit recently, but Jaxon Kohler’s slump over the past few weeks has really limited Michigan State’s offensive output and the Spartans desperately need to get him back on track. In my opinion, getting him going again is going to be the difference between a first-weekend exit in the NCAA Tournament and a Final Four push.
Kohler’s shooting under 30 percent from three over the past few weeks and he’s averaging well under 10 points and just under eight rebounds per game. It’s been a rough stretch, but I’d like to see him bounce back.
I’d like to see Kohler dominate his former teammate, Xavier Booker, in the paint — and from deep.
2. Trey Fort
I also haven’t been silent about this: Trey Fort needs to play more.
Michigan State’s offense has been slumping recently, and the best it’s looked outside of the Illinois win over the past four games was when Fort came in at the end of the Minnesota loss and scored 12 points in a near-comeback. He’s played just 13 total minutes over the past two games, however, and that might be holding the offense back, especially with Divine Ugochukwu out for the year.
Fort is a talented offensive player and while he does make some defensive mistakes, the good outweighs the bad. I’d like to see him play 15-20 minutes against UCLA and get 8-10 shots up.
3. A quick start
When was the last time that Michigan State wasn’t trailing for most of the first half? Maryland is probably the only game in the past month in which the Spartans were pretty much in control throughout. In recent weeks, they’ve had to climb out of some big holes — 12 against Rutgers, 18 against Michigan, 16 against Minnesota, and nine against Illinois.
That can’t continue if this team wants to do anything in March.
I’d like to see the Spartans finally get out to a quick start, take a commanding lead, and never look back for the first stress-free win since Maryland. It’s been way too long.