1. MSU gets its mojo back against UCLA, with some help from the Bruins
EAST LANSING — Michigan State deserves some credit for Tuesday night’s 82-59 over UCLA. The Spartans dusted themselves off and worked UCLA from start to finish. The Bruins also played like they wanted to be anywhere else but the Breslin Center, facing a team that’s still got some hunger for this season.
What UCLA showed is the February body language you want to avoid more than anything as you construct a roster in this transactional age of college basketball. Tom Izzo might not have mastered this era, but it’s been a while since I can recall a game where his team looked so willing to play the role UCLA did Tuesday night.
This was a get-right game for the Spartans (21-5 overall, 11-4 Big Ten), who played with the sort of purpose from the jump it takes to remind folks you’re not falling off a cliff.
It was also a reminder of why you’d better defend the Spartans with more vigor than UCLA did and not let MSU get comfortable from beyond the arc. Because, when the Spartans hit their outside shots, they can be an absolute bear, capable of beating anyone. That said, the anyones I’m referring to aren’t likely to let MSU find such a rhythm. The Spartans’ 14 3s Tuesday were a season-high (on 27 attempts), so no one should think this is who they’ll be in the Sweet 16.
But Jeremy Fears Jr. hitting four 3s, Jordan Scott making all three he took, Kur Teng hitting three, and Coen Carr making two from beyond the arc is a good night for shooting confidence. And an MSU team that’s made less than 30% of its long-range shots in three of its last four games will gladly take this alternative.
Carr's shooting and groove offensive is especially notable, because it carried over from Friday at Wisconsin.
“I just feel confident out there,” Carr said Tuesday night.
MSU's shooting made this lopsided quickly. But this game was won with effort — and the contrasting efforts between the two teams. A great example came early in the second half: After UCLA (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) had just cut the deficit to 17, Jordan Scott went unmarked through the lane to corral a Jaxon Kohler missed 3-point shot, putting it up and in with zero resistance. On the other end of the floor, Carson Cooper forced UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau into a difficult fallaway jumper (farther out than Bilodeau wanted), Coen Carr then boxed out a UCLA defender all the way out of bounds and Kohler grabbed the rebound.
Another example: MSU’s 37-27 edge on the glass, that was already 21-9 at the half, as the Spartans took a 43-23 lead into the break.
MSU got everything it wanted out of this game — 10 rebounds out of Kohler, 10 assists out of Fears (with one turnover), seven 3s out of its shooting guards, another strong offensive night from Carr, who finished with 16 points, and a decisive win that’ll help the Spartans get their mojo back. They should also send a thank you note to UCLA.
2. A reminder of the home-road difference
While MSU was hitting 60% of its 3s for most of Tuesday night’s game against UCLA, Wisconsin was in Columbus missing just about every 3 it attempted for most of the game, falling hard at Ohio State.
MSU made 8 of 27 3s four nights earlier in Madison, while the Badgers hit 15 of 35 (and it felt like 15 of 16). Tuesday, the Spartans made six more 3s than they did Friday and the Badgers on Tuesday made 6 of 23 against Ohio State. Wisconsin has been great on the road at times, but Tuesday was still a reminder of why it’s hard take too much from a single game in conference play, especially when one team goes bananas at home from beyond the arc.
Now the Spartans get a confident Ohio State team at Breslin Center on Sunday.
3. A forgettable but predictable return for Xavier Booker
That Xavier Booker wasn’t booed Tuesday night might have been partly a result of Izzo asking MSU’s fans not to do so. But I think it also had a lot to do with how MSU fans feel about Booker — they like him personally, wished it had worked out differently in East Lansing and, above all, they don’t feel scorned by his departure. He didn’t have enough of an impact at MSU for folks to be bothered by him leaving for UCLA.
And he didn’t do anything Tuesday night to make anyone think differently.
Worst yet, with 4:36 remaining and UCLA trailing 77-50, MSU’s students began chanting, “We want Booker,” as he sat on the bench. When he came to the scorer’s table shortly thereafter, they roared.
Booker’s only bucket and first of two rebounds came two minutes into the second half — a put-back to make it 46-29. Booker, who also had two blocks, was the player Tuesday we too often saw at MSU — not physically aggressive or enough of a presence to allow his skills and athletic gifts to take hold. When UCLA coach Mick Cronin brought Booker in to be the Bruins' starting center, there was a decent chance they weren’t going to have the interior grit needed to live up to their talent. They haven’t.
If a career in basketball is important to Booker, he should consider redshirting next season, at UCLA or anywhere, getting as strong and physically prepared as he can, before his final season. The challenge then still would be his mindset. But if he had next-level strength, that would help.
If he doesn’t want basketball to be his life, that’s OK, too.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU basketball rolls over UCLA, 82-59: 3 quick takes