Michigan State had a forgettable weekend, sports-wise. The No. 5 women’s soccer team lost to Penn State, the No. 2 hockey team lost its first game of the season to New Hampshire, and the No. 6 basketball team was dropped by Marquette in the exhibition finale.
Oh, and the football team lost to UCLA, but that was kind of a given considering the season has devolved into a nightmare with the last win coming back in Week 2.
Michigan State fans are in dire need of some good news after this weekend and while the basketball team did lose a game that ultimately didn’t matter, two bright spots emerged and were very obvious to anyone who tuned into the YouTube stream on Sunday afternoon.
The bright spots in question? Jasiah Jervis and Jordan Scott.
Jervis led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from deep. He did foul out but he was the most consistent offensive weapon that Michigan State had and he was comfortable with a hand in his face all game. Jervis may be at his best when he’s shooting 10-15 times per game, especially if he’s making around 50 percent like he has been through two (real) exhibition games
Scott was the second-leading scorer with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 3-for-7 from deep and he was really good all around once again. It just feels like Scott is never making the wrong decision. There’s a reason scouts are beginning to notice him and he’s generating NBA draft buzz — he’s that good.
Both stood out on Sunday afternoon and if they play like that consistently this season while guys like Coen Carr, Kur Teng, Carlos Medlock, Cam Ward, Anton Bonke, and Kaleb Glenn figure it out, the Spartans are going to be just fine.
This team has been a walking shooting slump all week, but Scott and Jervis salvaged both exhibition losses from looking way worse.
Cherish them while they’re still here, Spartan fans.
Michigan State needs more from everyone else
While Jeremy Fears Jr. has been giving it his all, his shooting could be a little better. He’s been too free throw-reliant through two exhibition games. Outside of him, Jervis, and Scott, though, Michigan State has gotten a lot of no-shows.
McCulloch has been OK, but he wasn’t quite where he needed to be on Sunday after being given the nod to start at center. He had just four points and a rebound. That’s not going to cut it against Duke, Gonzaga, or Arkansas.
Teng was 1-for-7, Carr was quiet and shot just 3-for-7, Ward had three points and four rebounds and didn’t attempt a single shot, Medlock was 1-for-4, and Glenn, Bonke, and Ethan Taylor combined for zero points. The Marquette game was an eye-opener for a lot of people and Tom Izzo probably isn’t going to sleep for the next week as he works on what went wrong against the Golden Eagles and UConn.
Michigan State isn’t going to win many games this year if Teng, Ward, Medlock, Glenn, Taylor, and Bonke all struggle at the same time.
Let’s hope today was an extreme outlier.
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