It was the last opportunity for the Michigan State Spartans to show in non-conference play that they could still be a contender this year. A chance to salvage what had been a frustrating 4-5 start to the season.
On a loaded Saturday of college basketball, the desperation unleashed a statement from Tom Izzo’s team, which routed No. 6 Baylor, 87-64, to hand the Bears their first loss of the season.
“Desperate or not, they kicked our butt in the first half,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said following the game.
That’s where we begin our five takeaways from the Spartans’ dominant performance.
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1. Tyson Walker displayed leadership and set the tone.
The Spartans’ heart and soul – their clear leader – stamped his presence on the game from the start, hitting the opening shot of the contest and scoring 14 of Michigan State’s first 22 points in the win.
Drew called a timeout nine minutes into the game just to stop the bleeding. It was 22-7 before his team could even settle in because of Walker, who started the game 4-for-4 from downtown and hit back-to-back triples in a matter of 45 seconds to push the lead to 15.
If there’s anybody who does not deserve blame for Michigan State’s first nine games, it’s Walker. The senior guard has combined for 65 points in the last three contests after Saturday’s performance and is shooting over 47% from the floor, averaging over 20 points per game. On a day where Walker had to be the Bears’ first priority defensively, he had the first and last word, totaling a game-high 25 points and leading the charge for the Spartans to shoot a season-best 8-for-12 from 3-point range.
Tyson Walker drains another 3-pointer as Michigan State leads Baylor
2. Michigan State returned to its identity – turning pressure defense into pace.
Izzo’s Hall of Fame journey has always gone back to defense, and his teams dictating games by swarming their opponents and making them uncomfortable. The worry this season has been where the Spartans would generate offense from around Walker. But the answer to that question actually started with getting stops on the defensive end, which then turned into easier looks on offense.
Michigan State swarmed RayJ Dennis and Jayden Nunn, forcing the Baylor guard duo into a combined 12 turnovers on the day. Drew admitted postgame that the Spartans were better defensively on Saturday than they’ve been on film. The Spartans forced 21 turnovers in the victory.
“We did something we haven’t been doing,” Izzo said. “We gotta get back to who we are. We were so worried about our shooting, and I probably did a poor job of talking about it a lot, too. And yet, for 29 years, we’ve defended, rebounded and ran. That’s what you gotta do. And if your running game starts going, then you defend better, and some good things happen offensively.”
As a result, the Spartans scored 21 fast-break points and outscored the Bears on the interior, 42-28.
“I just think the whole defend, rebound and run [concept],” Izzo said. “It’s on our boards, it’s on our walls. It’s been that way since Mark Hollis was the AD, and I was a snot-nosed kid that came out of the [Jud] Heathcote group, and it hasn’t ever changed.”
3. Tre Holloman led a solid bench performance for the Spartans.
The issue all season for Michigan State has been the lack of help for Walker. A.J. Hoggard provided 14 points, continuing a steady run for the senior after a slow start to his season, but he hasn’t been the concern recently. It’s been a lack of a real bench. That all changed on Saturday.
Holloman stepped up with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor in 18 minutes. His activity on the defensive end of the floor, along with the fact that he’s now shooting 12-of-25 from 3-point range, is allowing him to get more opportunities. With Jaden Akins still going through inconsistencies, it’s that much more important for Holloway to step up. His effort was part of an output that saw the Spartans’ reserves outscore the Bears, 35-19.
4. Michigan State’s freshmen showed more flashes.
The beauty of this Spartans team heading into the season was that they didn’t need this freshman class to do anything extraordinary for them to be successful. But for a better part of this season, that top-five unit has not exactly rung the bell either.
On Saturday, Coen Carr jolted the crowd at Little Caesars Arena. Sidenote: I would confidently take him to win any dunk contest in college basketball.
Coen Carr pulls off a WINDMILL jam as Michigan State extends its lead over Baylor
Carr’s windmill slam late in the first half sent Gus Johnson into a frenzy. When the 6-foot-5, 220-pound wing is in the game for Izzo, he seems to always supply something productive, including several “wow” moments on Saturday, which helped cement the Spartans’ grasp of the game.
But beyond Carr, Izzo was happy with Jeremy Fears coming in and delivering four assists. And on Saturday, even big man Xavier Booker, who has been the subject of a lot of attention for not living up to the hype, posted seven points on 3-of-3 from the floor in as many minutes. Izzo has talked about Booker needing to build up his strength to get more time, but if nothing else, Saturday offered a confidence-boosting game.
“Book got a little time, so now all of you can relax, all the Twitter idiots,” Izzo quipped. “They can all relax now. He’s gotten better because we put him on the scout team. I feel for the kid, but he knows.”
5. Desperation did bring out the best in the Spartans. The real question: Can they sustain it?
Should it have gotten to the point it had reached Saturday for this Michigan State team? No. But they held a team that has a top-five KenPom offense to its worst scoring performance of the season. The Spartans did it with suffocating defense that was born out of the urgency the team needed to play with.
“Probably, and I hate to say that,” Izzo said when asked if his team was in fact desperate for a win. “You shouldn’t be desperate here. Here, this is the way it should be. I think what my guys should realize is we did it the old-fashioned way, and that got us going.”
Up next for the Spartans is a matchup with Izzo’s longtime friend Greg Kampe and Oakland on Monday night in East Lansing. The Golden Grizzlies own a win at Xavier and gave Ohio State a scare on opening night.
The Bears have to turn around and play No. 21 Duke on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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