Stock Up, Stock Down Report from MSU’s First Two Exhibitions

Michigan State basketball has offered two glimpses now into how it’ll look this season.

The sixth-ranked Spartans now have just one preseason game left, a road game at Marquette on Sunday, following an 89-59 victory over Incarnate Word on Oct. 2 and a 78-70 loss to UConn on Tuesday. Both games were at the Breslin Center. Here are the players whose stock has been impacted the most by the first two exhibitions:

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Michigan State forward Jesse McCulloch (35) attempts to block UConn’s Oskar Giltay’s (18) shot during an exhibition game at the Breslin Center on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

F Jesse McCulloch

The non-political “October surprise” for MSU has been third-year forward Jesse McCulloch. He’s been one of the Spartans’ better players in each exhibition game so far. McCulloch made a statement against UIW with a 20-point outburst (he’s never scored more than nine in a real game) paired with five rebounds. He got the start that day in place of Cam Ward, who was out with a minor ankle injury.

UConn was a more challenging opponent, but McCulloch still looked solid with eight points and five rebounds. He also finished with a +7 plus/minus across 16 minutes, the best mark on the team. It felt like in the preseason that McCulloch would really have to work for minutes with all the options MSU had at the four and with Anton Bonke and Ethan Taylor coming in to play center, but it’s clear now that McCulloch will at least start the season as one of the first players off the bench.

G Jasiah Jervis

True freshman two-guard Jasiah Jervis looks like one of Michigan State’s better scorers right now. He’s been in double figures in each exhibition game so far. MSU only hit three shots from behind the arc all game against the Huskies; two were from Jervis.

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He was also one of five players to get at least 20 minutes against Connecticut, alongside Jeremy Fears Jr. (31), Coen Carr (29), Jordan Scott (29), and Cam Ward (24). It’s…

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Publish date : 2026-10-22 12:00:00

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