EAST LANSING, Michigan–

Home, sweet Home. The Michigan State Spartans returned to the Breslin Center after an 18-day hiatus and simply put- they shucked the Nebraska Cornhuskers to the tune of 89-52 Saturday (12/7). Spartans’ offense stayed hot, and the team never trailed while only tied once at 7-7. MSU improves to 8-2 (2-0, Big Ten) while Coach Hoiberg’s squad falls to 6-2 (0-1, Big Ten). Spartans are now one of three teams starting 2-0 in conference play along with Michigan and newcomer UCLA.

Record: 8-2, (2-0 Big Ten)

Rankings: AP- 21st, Coaches-19th

KenPom: 22nd // Bart Torvik: 20th

Updated KenPom- Off: 31st, Def: 20th. AdjT: 192nd. SOS Net Rtg: 76th +3.48

FULL KenPom Stats: https://kenpom.com/index.php

FULL Bart Torvik Stats: T-Rank – Customizable College Basketball Tempo Free Stats – T-Rank

Home Holiday Cooking

Coach Izzo’s team has strung together an impressive series of offensive games, eclipsing 3-straight 89+ point efforts. Saturday, they were led by Jaden Akins (18 pts, 5-10 FG, 4-8 3-PT FG) and freshman phenom Jase Richardson (16 pts, 5-7 FG, 2-3 3-PT) in only 15 minutes of action.

Fellow starter Jaxon Kohler contributed 8 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists with a pair of blocks, guards Tre Holloman and Jeremy Fears Jr. struggled shooting but collectively chipped in 14 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists and only 4 turnovers. Xavier Booker continued to be productive in 15 minutes (11 pts, 6 rebounds) as well with Coen Carr adding 8 points and a pair of blocks and rebounds.

When life gives you lemons throw it to Coen Carr 😤#B1GMBBall x @MSU_Basketball pic.twitter.com/GQZjykVJg8

— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 7, 2024

Defensively, the Spartans stymied the Cornhusker’s offense and limited leading scorer Brice Williams to 11 points on 3-7 shooting and never became comfortable. Nebraska reserve Andrew Morgan led with a team high 14 points with 7 rebounds. MSU dominated the glass with 48 to Nebraska’s 19 rebounds, assists 20-8, 19 points off turnovers to NEB 14, fast break points 18-7 ballooning its largest lead to 42 points.

All-in-all, this was a feel-good game as both the offense and defense were clicking. This resulted in a large advantage in fast break points and rebounds. MSU’s movement and execution lead to a handful of dunks, alley-oop slams all while finishing nearly perfect at the free-throw line. It left fans, players and staff members alike with a smile heading into their school’s finals week and break (10 days until 12/17 vs. Oakland U).

TEAM STATS:

MSU: 29-56 FG (51.8%), 9-23, 3-PT (39.17%), 22-23 FT (95.7%)

NEB: 18-54 FG (33.3%), 4-22, 3-PT (18.2%), 12-18 FT (66.7%)

NEXT ON THE CLOCK: Oakland University (3-5)

12/17 – 7:00pm EST — Little Caesars Arena- Detroit, MI

FULL REVIEW CLOSER TO GAME DATE – STAY TUNED FOR BIG TEN LOOK AROUND PIECE NEXT!

Trending Notes

–Jase Richardson: His game continues to turn heads, as does his stake for Big Ten Freshman of the Year, surpassing Frankie Fidler for second in PPG at 10.3 at a staggering 63.5% FG, 50% 3-PT and 85.7% from the free throw line. All while only averaging 20.8 minutes per game (2nd behind Akins 27.3 minutes) and an impressive 18:4 (Asst/TO) ratio. Unless an injury occurs, he will continue to be around the 20-22 minutes played mark with Holloman, Akins and Fears all competing for time in the backcourt, but he is already showing great chemistry with his new teammates.

–Defense Quietly Improves: over the last 5 games, the defense has allowed 68.4 PPGA, after allowing 3-straight 70+ PPGA to Kansas, Samford and Bowling Green (74.6 PPGA). It appears evident that the team has refocused on their trademark defense after some hot starts to the 3 schools just mentioned and holding Memphis to 71 points against their 84.8 average heading into that contest. Memphis had 99 scored on #1 UCONN and 94 vs. Ohio University. The solid jumps in both KenPom and Barttorvik rankings bringss MSU up to 20th in KenPom DRtg and 26th in Barttorvik Adjusted Defensive Efficiency.

–Rankings Jump: As of 12/9 week, MSU checks in on the AP T25 at #21 while voted #19 by the Coaches Poll.

Michigan State basketball will be ranked today for the first time in 382 days📈

MSU was last ranked November 23, 2023 vs. #3 Arizona. pic.twitter.com/QkfHArtJuL

— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) December 9, 2024