Two MSU Players in Need of Bounce-Backs
The Michigan State Spartans added another victory to their season after taking down the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Tuesday, but two members of the MSU squad were rather quiet in the contest, as senior forward Frankie Fidler and sophomore forward Coen Carr each scored just 2 points.
Fidler has been a key contributor for MSU this season but, as of recently, has been somewhat nonexistent. His last double-digit scoring performance came in MSU's overtime victory over North Carolina Tar in the Maui Invitational when he dropped 13 points, draining five of six shots, and had three rebounds.
Fidler's production in the last three games has not been there, averaging 4 points a game in that stretch, two rebounds and three personal fouls. His production, when on, for MSU has been excellent, but in his recent games, averaging 16 minutes each, he has been quite underwhelming.
Carr has been a reliable piece coming off the bench as well for the Spartans this season and has greatly improved already since his freshman year. In Carr's freshman campaign, he averaged 3.1 points per game and 1.8 rebounds while playing in 35 games, averaging just under 12 minutes of court time.
In his sophomore season thus far, Carr has shown more promise in his play, which is exactly what Coach Tom Izzo and the rest of the MSU coaching staff wanted to see. Carr has improved on all statistics from last season.
Carr has played in all 11 of the Spartans' games so far, averaging 21 minutes of court time. He has also put up new collegiate highs in average points, with 7.9 per game, and rebounds, with 3.4, and steals.
Like Fidler, Carr also shined in that win over North Carolina, scoring 14 points on six of eight field goal attempts while grabbing seven rebounds in 32 minutes.
Carr then had another solid game against Minnesota, dropping 12 points against Minnesota, but since then, he has been on a cold streak.
In MSU's last two games, Carr has recorded 10 points combined and hasn't been as effective on the boards. He is in need of another standout performance.
We'll see if Fidler and Carr are able to bounce back on Saturday when the Spartans host Florida Atlantic.
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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