MSU's Bench Makes its Mark Yet Again in Loss to Kansas
Jase Richardson, Jaxon Kohler, and the rest of Michigan State's bench had a great performance in their game against No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday. The MSU bench boys made sure they made their impact known when they took to the court.
Firstly, Richardson. Going into the game, Richardson had put up double-digit points in both of the first two games -- 10 in Game 1 of the year and 12 in Game 2. Coming off of the bench again in the game against Kansas, he was a vital piece in keeping his team in the game.
By the end of the first half, Richardson had 8 points, which was more than all five starters combined in the first half alone. Richardson found a way to add to his points when making a 3-point shot after being fouled with a second to go before halftime. He converted on the and-1.
After halftime, the Spartans started to mesh better on offense and defense, going back and forth with the Jayhawks. The team as a whole held most of their opponents off the scorecards unless their name was Hunter Dickinson.
MSU saw some considerable deficits early on in the game, but Richardson and the rest of the MSU crew were able to chop down the Kansas lead in the first 10 minutes of the second half. If it weren't for Richardson, who knows how many points they would be behind after the first.
Richardson picked up the slack of his team in the first, and when the rest of the starting crew started finding mojo and their pass game, Richardson began to see a little less time on the court.
Kohler took matters into his own hands as he was able to get seven rebounds and 12 points without being on the starting crew for the game. Kohler and Richardson, as well as the likes of Coen Carr and Carson Cooper, wanted to do whatever they all could for MSU to remain undefeated.
The Bench boys must have been feeling really loose on the court, scoring 20-plus points between the two. Coach Tom Izzo can walk away from the performance he saw out of the men off the bench and feel confident down the line of the season, knowing what they are capable of when the starters, metaphorically, drop the ball.
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Dominic Minchella holds a communications degree from Eastern Michigan University. He is a former MLB writer and joins our team ad an NFL/College team reporter on Sports Illustrated