Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball’s 80-78 win over Illinois

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1. In massive win over Illinois, MSU shows ‘strength and numbers’ is more than a slogan

EAST LANSING – Michigan State still has a long road ahead to win a Big Ten title. But if the Spartans do, they’ll look back on Sunday afternoon as the game that put them in the driver’s seat.

And as more evidence that this team can contend at the top of the sport.

MSU didn’t start well. And the Spartans almost certainly wouldn’t have won this game away from Breslin Center. But they won it, nonetheless, 80-78, to get to 7-0 in the Big Ten and 16-2 on the season. And they did so by showing that “strength in numbers” can be more than just a slogan, even against the upper crust of college basketball.

This was a heckuva game, one that required a number of different Spartans to have their moments in the sun — Tre Holloman’s steely start, Frankie Fidler’s big shots in the second half, Jaden Akins’ defense and late bucket, Coen Carr’s defense and corner 3, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper getting control of things on the glass, Szymon Zapala’s important second-half stint, Jeremy Fears’ attacking, Xavier Booker’s close to the first half.

“Everybody did their thing in moments,” Tom Izzo said. “There were a couple plays we actually ran for everybody that we thought would help us get going. Frankie once, Jase once made a big play on a curl move. We went into Coop, made that nice hook shot. We went into Jax and made a couple nice plays. Tre was really good, and Jeremy actually ran our team really well. … Book! I mean, don’t downplay Book’s 18 minutes because, he hits a big three, defensively, he did a pretty good job,

“I thought every guy had his moment where they brought something to the table, and that’s what strengths and numbers do.”

Michigan State’s Tre Holloman, right, hugs Jaden Akins late during the second half in the game against Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.

Holloman’s 17-point day was the closest thing MSU had to…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/couch-3-quick-takes-michigan-194555754.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2025-01-19 19:45:00

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