Good teams have a solid starting five, great teams are 8-10 players deep. Michigan State basketball is proving to be the latter, at least to this point in the season, because of its depth.
We have seen the Spartans improve in every metric outside of 3-point shooting this season and that's because of their willingness to defend, rebound, and run, and when you have fresh legs every few minutes, it makes doing all of those at an elite level easier.
Don't believe me? The numbers back me up.
According to Casual Big Ten on X, the Spartans are in the middle of the pack in points scored this season (somewhat surprising given the fact that they're 45th nationally in points per game) but they're No. 1 in the Big Ten by a wide margin in bench points scored.
Points Scored vs. Bench Points so far this season. pic.twitter.com/j0qNePenKv
— Casual Big Ten (@casualbigten) January 15, 2025
This should come as no surprise that Michigan State has had the most bench production in the conference this season but the margin is shocking. Michigan State has the most bench points in the conference by what looks like 130ish points which is insane when you think about it.
Heck, half of the Spartans' 90 points scored against Penn State on Wednesday night came from the bench. That's almost unheard of.
When you have five guys that come off the bench that score just as much as the starters, you know you have one of the deepest teams in the country. On Wednesday, the bench accounted for not just 45 points, but also 17 rebounds, six assists, four steals, and two blocks. That type of production is something most teams' starters can't provide nightly.
If Michigan State makes a run this year, it'll be due to its depth.