Jordan Scott steps up for No. 5 Michigan State with his defense and rebounding against No. 2 Duke

CHICAGO (AP) — Jordan Scott was quiet on offense — and loud everywhere else.

Scott scored just five points for No. 5 Michigan State on Tuesday night, but he played a major role in a 79-73 win over No. 2 Duke in the Champions Classic. The 6-foot-8 sophomore grabbed nine rebounds, blocked six shots and collected two steals.

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“That was about as good a game as you can have for a guy that went 2 for 7 (from the field), 1 for 4 from the 3,” Spartans coach Tom Izzo said. “Not impressive, and yet he probably changed the whole game himself with his defense, with his rebounding, with his effort-related stats.”

Scott’s length and athleticism contributed to Duke shooting just 33.3% from the field. He pulled down all nine of his boards on defense.

“It just boils down to defend, rebound and run,” Scott said. “I thought we did that at a high level, and going into the game, we knew whoever executed defending, rebounding and running was going to win this game, and that’s what we did.”

Scott, a four-star recruit from Northern Virginia, played in each of Michigan State’s 35 games as a freshman, starting the final 13. He averaged 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds.

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He scored a total of 23 points in Michigan State’s first two games this season, home wins over Quinnipiac and Toledo. He made a 3-pointer in the first half and a late layup against Duke, but he impacted the game in a variety of ways.

“You see it every game. Jordan is the X-factor on defense,” teammate Cam Ward said. “He does it all. He had six blocks tonight. Just he’s everywhere all the time. It’s just like a luxury to have him on our team, especially when he can be that guy for us.”

Scott and Michigan State opened the game with an 11-2 run. He had five blocks and five rebounds at the break, helping the Spartans to a 34-25 halftime lead.

“In an atmosphere like this, going against a team like that, you can’t sit around and wait,” Scott said. “So we knew we had to get off to a good start and then keep it moving from…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jordan-scott-steps-no-5-041358399.html

Author : JAY COHEN

Publish date : 2026-11-11 04:13:00

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