Five Takeaways: Michigan State cruises to season-opening win over Northern Arizona
Michigan State men's basketball got its season underway on Monday night when the Spartans hosted Northern Arizona at the Breslin Center.
MSU got off to an 24-8 start in the opening 10 minutes of play and never really looked back from there, cruising to a 73-55 win over the Lumberjacks.
Here's what stood out from the Spartans' season-opening victory:
1.) Joey Hauser is off to a great start
In the weeks leading up to the season, Tom Izzo hinted at senior power forward Joey Hauser taking a step and living up to hype that followed him to East Lansing when he transferred in from Marquette two years ago.
If Monday night was any indication, we may see that come to fruition in 2022-23.
Yes, competition level must be taken into account, and that level is about to go up in a major way in the coming weeks. With that said, Hauser was about as good as could have been reasonably expected tonight. The senior finished with 18 points and, more importantly, shot 4-of-8 from three-point range.
Hauser looked comfortable and in control throughout the night, which you would expect out of a fifth-year senior. If this is the Joey Hauser that consistently shows up this season, Michigan State's ceiling will rise dramatically as the season plays out.
2.) Pierre Brooks shoots lights out
Sophomore Pierre Brooks is being asked to take on a much larger role in 2022-23 than he had as a true freshman last season, and he looked more than up to the challenge tonight.
Brooks was a sharpshooter for Michigan State in the opener, shooting 4-of-7 from three-point range on his way to 14 points.
Depth was a big question mark for the Spartans coming into the season, especially in the frontcourt. Brooks is a little undersized at small forward, but if he continues to shoot the ball like he did tonight that won't matter much.
3.) Bit of a mixed bag with starting guards
This is going to be a big year for starting point guard A.J. Hoggard. He's a big guard who can do a little bit of everything, and he sees the floor really well. Hoggard is the perfect floor general for Tom Izzo.
Tonight, Hoggard finished with nine points, eight assists and a steal. He shot 3-for-7 from the floor, and got to the free throw line a couple times, shooting 3-for-3.
On the other hand, it was a tough shooting night for off-guard Tyson Walker. The senior went just 3-of-11 from the floor, including 0-of-4 from three-point range, and finished with six points. Walker did hand out five assists, grabbed four rebounds and had two steals, however.
I like the fact that Izzo took Walker off the ball. He struggled last year to balance running the offense as a point guard and look for his own shot. The move to shooting guard allows Walker to focus on what he does best, and that's being a scorer.
Even though Walker didn't shoot the ball well tonight, I'm not concerned. I think this is the senior's best role.
4.) Jaden Akins looks healthy
To be honest, I didn't really expect shooting guard Jaden Akins to suit up tonight. The sophomore is coming off a foot procedure from a couple months ago, and sat out of Michigan State's exhibition game last week against Grand Valley State.
However, Izzo elected to dress Akins and give him quite a bit of run tonight, as he played 16 minutes.
Akins looked fluid and showed no signs of any nagging symptoms from the foot procedure, and that's great news for the Spartans. The sophomore finished with six points on 3-of-10 shooting.
He'll be a key contributor for Michigan State this season, and the depth that he provides in the backcourt will be needed as MSU prepares to enter the gauntlet of a nonconference schedule that awaits them.
5.) Entering the warzone
This was a nice way for Michigan State to get its season started, because the Spartans are about to enter the toughest nonconference slate in the country.
Up next, MSU will travel to San Diego to battle No. 2 Gonzaga in the Armed Forces Classic on Friday. The Spartans will then head to Indianapolis to face No. 4 Kentucky in the annual Champions Classic.
After back-to-back Top 5 opponents, Michigan State will then host No. 16 Villanova in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, ahead of a matchup with No. 20 Alabama in the Phil Knight Invitational.
Buckle up, Spartan Nation.
