Five Takeaways: Michigan State outlasts No. 4 Kentucky in huge upset victory
Michigan State trailed for most of the game, but the Spartans led when it mattered most, when the clock hit 0:00 after double-overtime.
After a gut-wrenching one-point loss to No. 2 Gonzaga last weekend, Michigan State battled through turnovers and a short bench to stun No. 4 Kentucky, 86-77, in the annual Champions Classic.
The confidence that the Spartans will gain from this victory cannot be overstated as they continue through a tough non-conference slate. Here's what stood out most from Michigan State's big victory.
1.) Joey Hauser bounces back
Last week against Gonzaga, Hauser picked up two quick fouls and had to sit for the majority of the first half. It's tough for any player to get into a rhythm when that happens, and Hauser had a rough go of it against the Bulldogs as a result.
Tonight against Kentucky, Hauser bounced back in a big way leading the Spartans with 23 points and added eight rebounds. The fifth-year senior was an efficient 8-of-16 from the floor, including 4-of-7 from three-point range.
The next step for Hauser will be consistency, but he's been arguably Michigan State's best player in both of the Spartans' victories this season.
2.) Malik Hall makes his mark
Malik Hall had gotten off to a quiet start this season through the first two games, but he started fast tonight with 10 points in the first half.
Hall was a little quieter in the second half, with just six points, but he came up with the two biggest buckets of the night for Michigan State, when he converted a pair of dunks to force both overtimes.
The senior finished with 20 points on an uber-efficient 7-of-11 shooting. He also had five rebounds. One of the things that makes Hall an efficient scorer is that he doesn't take very many bad shots. Because of that, the senior can disappear at times, like he did tonight for a large portion of the second half.
Going forward, Hall will have to balance trying to be efficient while also stepping up and being more aggressive, because he is unarguably one of the Spartans' best players.
3.) Michigan State's transition defense looks elite
The Spartans did an excellent job in transition defense against Gonzaga, and that carried over to this game as well. Michigan State held Kentucky to just five fast break points on the night.
MSU was pretty solid defensively throughout the night for that matter. The Spartans held the Wildcats to just 39 percent from the floor, and 28 percent from three-point range. Michigan State struggled to defend Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe, who had 22 points, and MSU allowed 36 points in the paint total.
However, this was a still a classic, gritty defensive performance from Tom Izzo's club.
4.) Spartans' toughness, poise shines through
Michigan State had 18 turnovers tonight, which is far too many. However, when it came down to crunch time, the Spartans bottled things up, took care of the basketball and executed down the stretch.
Tyson Walker didn't shoot the ball particularly well, going 4-13 from the floor, but the senior had some big buckets down the stretch for MSU and finished with 14 points, six assists, three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. What a gutsy performance from the smallest guy on the floor.
Mady Sissoko, likewise, held down the fort for Michigan State in the post, and turned in another workman-like performance. The junior finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.
5.) MSU's lack of depth is evident
The Spartans don't have much depth right now, and it was evident tonight against the Wildcats. Kentucky got 45 points off the bench, while Michigan State's reserves provided just nine points.
Jaden Akins was solid off the bench for the Spartans, with seven points and seven rebounds. However, the sophomore is still shaking off some of the rust due to missing a couple months due to foot surgery. Akins shot just 2-of-8 from the floor tonight.
Meanwhile, Izzo rotated true freshman big men Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper to help defend Kentucky's plethora of big bodies down low in the first half, but the head coach went with a six-man rotation for most of the second half.
Kohler is going to be a good player, but he's still getting used to playing at a collegiate level. Cooper is further away from being a guy MSU can rely on to be a part of the rotation, but he has the physical frame to one day be a contributor. It's going to be a work in progress to see if the Spartans can develop more depth as the season goes on.
Up Next
Michigan State returns home and will host Villanova this Friday at the Breslin Center. This will be the Spartans' opening game of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Wildcats began the year ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press' preseason Top 26, but fell out of the rankings this week after suffering a 68-64 loss at Temple.
Villanova is breaking in a new coach, Kyle Neptune, after national championship-winning coach Jay Wright elected to retire this past offseason.
While Michigan State's nonconference schedule remains challenging, the Spartans now have the confidence that they can play with anybody after playing the No. 2 team to within one point and outlasting the No. 4 team in double-overtime.
