3 thoughts from Michigan State basketball's exhibition win over Northern Michigan
The 2024-25 season doesn't officially tip off until Nov. 4 against Monmouth, but Michigan State basketball fans got an appetizer on Sunday afternoon as the Spartans went up north to face Northern Michigan. The Spartans beat Northern Michigan, 70-53, in Tom Izzo's return home.
It wasn't pretty but Michigan State cruised ahead by 28 points before Northern Michigan dwindled it down to 17 by the end of the game. The outcome was never in doubt, but it could've been pretter.
Michigan State will get one more exhibition against Ferris State on Oct. 29 before starting the season in November and there's still a lot of work to do.
What did we learn from the exhibition win?
1. Guards need to be more active defensively
Recording just eight steals and allowing 25 attempts from 3-point range seems to be a far cry from what we were used to in 2023-24 with Tyson Walker and AJ Hoggard active on the defensive end.
Sure, the 3-point defense was still an issue a year ago, but the guards made up for it with active hands, being one of the top turnover-inducing teams in the Big Ten. It felt like Walker, Hoggard, Jaden Akins, and Tre Holloman were due for 2-3 easy breakaway layups via steals per game.
The perimeter defense struggled again and the guards weren't as active defensively as I would've hoped. They need to do better moving forward.
2. Jaden Akins, Frankie Fidler have to be better
When you play in a different venue in front of a "hostile" environment, you expect your veterans to play well and lead by example. That wasn't quite the case on Sunday.
Jaden Akins didn't play his best, shooting just 2-for-12 from the floor with four points and two turnovers in 20 minutes. He was a measly 0-for-4 from the 3-point line. That's not going to cut it when the regular season starts and this team plays better opponents.
Frankie Fidler wasn't much better, going 1-for-2 from the field for five points thanks to 3-for-5 shooting from the free throw line. He played just 13 minutes because he was in foul trouble.
Both of these guys have to be better when the regular season starts if the Spartans want to make any noise.
3. Jase Richardson, Kur Teng are ready
While a couple of veterans were quiet with nine total points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field, two true freshman lived up to their recruiting rankings hype and looked more than ready to contribute.
Jase Richardson finished with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting and looked confident out there, not holding back on any of his shot attempts. If he gets an open shot, he's going to take it and he's going to shoot at an impressive clip. He also had four assists and a steal and looked to be in full control on the offensive end of the floor.
Kur Teng also looked solid in 15 minutes, scoring six points on 2-for-4 shooting with three rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He was comfortable and didn't look in over his head.
These two freshmen are ready to contribute immediately.