Almost every single player on this Michigan State roster has improved this season, and that includes some of the guys who didn’t really see the floor a year ago.
Kur Teng is one of those guys who was lightly-used in 2024-25, and probably should’ve been redshirted. I would bet that Tom Izzo wishes he made that decision over because he could have three more years of Teng after this season instead of two. He could become one of the deadliest sharpshooters in the Big Ten over the next two years, however.
There have been times this season when it looked like Teng didn’t belong on the floor, but he progressed from losing his starting job in the opening month to now being the sixth man.
Teng has gone from uncomfortable in the starting lineup to thriving as the first man off the bench, and he had one of his best games as a Spartan on Thursday at Mackey Arena.
The sophomore shooting guard finished with 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench, making 3-of-6 threes and 4-of-8 shots from the floor. He also added three rebounds, an assist, and a steal and he also hit two big free throws in the second half to extend Michigan State’s lead.
Michigan State needs this version of Teng moving forward.
Kur Teng could unlock a deep NCAA Tournament run
There are several players who can raise the ceiling of this team and Teng is one of them. If he plays like he did on Thursday night against Purdue for the remainder of the season, Michigan State is going to be a Final Four team. I say that as a bold prediction, but that’s just how much he helps this team.
Michigan State didn’t have much trouble scoring on Thursday night, but it did need every single one of Teng’s 13 points to beat the Boilermakers in Mackey for the first time since 2014.
A confident, sharpshooting Teng just helped Michigan State win in a venue where it hasn’t won since 2014. I can only imagine what he can do when he’s on his game on a neutral floor in March.
Maybe not this season, but I can see Teng having a Matt McQuaid-type role in East Lansing.
Michigan State just needed a couple of shooters to step up to give hope for a deep NCAA Tournament run, and both Teng and Jordan Scott have done that.