3 Things We Learned During MSU's Opener vs. Quinnipiac

EAST LANSING --- No. 6 Michigan State looked a lot more like the No. 6 team in the country on Monday.

Yes, it's Quinnipiac, but the Spartans won by a serious margin and were sharp in a 96-59 result that could've been more lopsided had MSU kept its foot on the gas throughout the second half. It's only the first game of 32 regular-season contests, but there are a few key things we've learned.

Bonke can Succeed Here

Anton Bonke's lack of minutes in Michigan State's three exhibition games was a major concern. He was brought in from the transfer portal to be MSU's starting center, but he wasn't playing like it or getting the minutes of one.

Monday night was a needed statement for Bonke. He scored 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 day from the field, but his largest contributions may have been his 13 rebounds and two blocks across his 20 minutes. Bonke looked much more like the center the Spartans need him to be this season. Seeing that out of him was big for Tom Izzo as well.

"It's not the players that always need it; the coach needs to have some confidence in the players," Izzo said. "If you respond, that's the greatest gift a coach can get from a player: that you push, respond. He still has trouble maybe moving laterally a little bit, but he was much better than he was over the weekend."

That's the really encouraging part: Bonke responded to adversity. His lack of minutes against UConn or Marquette wasn't an accident, and he also got an earful from Izzo early in the game after dribbling one ball off his foot and out of bounds and shooting an ill-advised three-pointer.

The question now is whether Bonke can build upon it. It was a positive day for him and Michigan State's frontcourt in general, and it was without Jesse McCulloch (minor concussion). Izzo said McCulloch has been their "most consistent" center up to this point, and there is a good chance he would've started on Monday had he been available.

MSU's List of Shooters is Lengthy

MSU also began its season with a decent shooting performance, going 9-for-23 (39.1%) from behind the three-point arc. Seven different Spartans made a three against Quinnipiac. The encouraging part is that the shot was still efficient despite some off nights from the team's better shooters.

Izzo said that the team's best shooters are "probably" freshman Jasiah Jervis and sophomore Jordan Scott. Jervis went just 1-for-5 from behind the arc, and Scott did the exact same thing. It's one game, but Izzo definitely doesn't think the two of them will be sitting in that 20% shooting range for very long.

Michigan State hasn't been a program that has lived and died by the three, but Izzo's teams are often pretty decent at shooting. The Spartans have been in the top 50 nationally in three-point percentage (D-I vs. D-I games only) in three of the last four seasons, according to KenPom. Ironically, the odd team out was the best one in 2024-25.

There is no shortage of capable shooters on this team. Jervis, Scott, and Kur Teng may be the best ones on the team. Carlos Medlock Jr., Jeremy Fears Jr., and Kaleb Glenn are all real threats from deep. Coen Carr could also be added to that; his only three on Monday went in, and it was a pretty smooth, confident-looking shot that didn't touch the rim.

MSU Will Be Very Backcourt-Oriented

The game from Bonke was great, but the guards will ultimately be the ones telling the story this year. It all starts with Fears' return to the team, but Jervis and Scott are two other guys Michigan State will need on the court a lot this year. This will squeeze the amount of minutes available for wings, like Carr, at the three. Most of his minutes on Monday were at power forward, which wasn't the case for him last year.

Glenn's big day on Monday --- 11 points on 5-for-5 shooting --- only adds to that. He's technically another wing/forward on the roster, but a large part of Glenn's contributions is his guard skills.

Medlock's debut was also exceptional. He provided nine points and four assists in his first collegiate game, nearly all of those stats coming on a remarkable opening shift. His score-first play style is a big change of pace from Fears' style, and it's something MSU really missed last year.

It's just a different makeup from last year's team that got to be a lot more frontcourt-oriented with Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler. The Spartans didn't necessarily have to replace the two of them one-for-one, but they have seemed to have shifted their collective weight onto a different foot instead.

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