Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 77-70 loss at Nebraska
Graham Couch
1. The one area MSU had been able to count on let the Spartans down at Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. – If Michigan State can’t count on its defense to travel, it’s going to be a humbling road through the Big Ten this season. We saw a bit of what that might look like in Sunday night’s 77-70 loss at Nebraska.
Sure, the Huskers were due a good shooting night at home. But MSU gave up too many makable looks, let too many capable shooters get going, gave up too many backdoor buckets. And, in a battle of two teams badly needing a win to redirect their seasons, the Huskers were the side that had a little more to them.
Offensively, MSU did some good things, things they’d been waiting on. Malik Hall, fully healthy after a bout with the flu, played his best offensive game — other than missing a late 3 when the Spartans needed a bucket. Otherwise, you’d like MSU’s chances on a night when he scores 22 points and tallies seven rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. A.J. Hoggard got off to a great start and played pretty well, with 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, with just one turnover. Jaden Akins got going offensively (more on that below). And Tyson Walker hit some big-time shots late in the game.
The Spartans were patient offensively on some important possessions, resulting in good shots and points. They attacked in transition coming off made buckets. Offensively, this was noted improvement. Playing Nebraska helps. Still, if you tell me all of that happened and MSU made 8 of 17 3s, scored 28 points in the paint and shot 44%, I’d tell you the Spartans won by seven or so.
Instead, they’re 0-2 in the Big Ten heading into Christmas and 4-5 overall heading into a date with sixth-ranked Baylor on Saturday. They’re up against it. Because the one aspect of their game that had kept them competitive failed them Sunday. The Huskers shot 50% from the floor, better than anyone has shot against them this season, including Duke, Arizona and Wisconsin, none of whom topped 46%. Nebraska made 10 3s, 13 of 15 free throws and scored 30 points in the paint. It also didn't help that MSU's two centers combined for two points and three rebounds in 25 minutes. That was, and is, a big issue.
This MSU team will lose a lot in this Big Ten season allowing those sort of numbers.
2. Overall, an encouraging night for Jaden Akins
MSU still needs more from Jaden Akins. But he did things Sunday night that showed an understanding of that. And an understanding of the moment.
There were a couple of instances when MSU badly needed either a bucket or Akins to take the lead offensively. In the first half, for example, the Spartans had a fairly limited offensive lineup on the floor — with Tre Holloman, Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Mady Sissoko and Akins. You don’t want to run with that crew for too long. But while it’s out there, Akins is the top option. Akins almost immediately hit a 3 from the left wing and then scored on a layup, swooping in from the left side on a fast break — coming off a made Nebraska bucket, no less. That lineup, which also included Malik Hall for some of the time it was on the floor, kept the lead and MSU’s offense going. That was largely because of Akins.
In the second half, when MSU trailed 46-40 and seemed to be teetering on the edge of something worse, Akins immediately buried a 3 from the left side.
Earlier, just before the half, it was his smothering one-on-one defense on Jamarques Lawrence that kept the Huskers from getting off a decent look.
Akins wasn’t perfect. He did something early in the second half that led to the wrath of Tom Izzo and a seat on the bench. But this performance was on the right track. He finished with 10 points, hitting 2 of 4 3s, and four rebounds — a couple of them memorable — in 28 minutes. His impact was probably better than his stats. That hasn’t always been the case this season.
3. Freshman thoughts – the Nebraska edition
This was Coen Carr’s most impactful game in a while, the most comfortable I think he’s looked against a high-major opponent. And the most important development was the first signs from him of shot creation. Late in the first half Sunday, Carr drove to about the right elbow, pulled up and buried a confident-looking, high-arching jumper, putting the Spartans ahead 32-31. We haven’t seen that at all from him yet. This, one game after hitting a 17-foot catch-and-shoot jumper, another first this season.
Carr had two big-time rebounds in the possessions that followed his pull-up shot Sunday. It was like it unlocked him. Later, just before the half, Carr stole the ball and took off toward the basket. He turned it over as he neared the rim. But he played the final four minutes of the first half like a difference-maker. And he was. A significant development for a young player, who gets a little lost on defense and is trying to figure out what he can do offensively right now. Well, if he can be a threat of the drive or a threat on mid-range jumpers, that changes his season.
Carr’s second-half bucket was the sort of shot we’re more accustomed to — an alley-oop dunk after flying in along the right baseline, throwing down a nice pass from Tyson Walker on the drive. Carr didn’t check in for the first time until the 12:24 mark of the second half. That dunk came less than a minute later. Based on how he had closed the first half, he might have been useful earlier.
Carr finished with just those four points, three rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes. He also had an impressive blocked shot that was originally ruled goaltending but reversed. I thought Sunday night was a good step forward for Carr.
Jeremy Fears Jr. didn’t have a great game. He turned it over three times, two go along with two assists. He didn’t score and gave up a couple buckets. He played like a freshman.
But, one of the things I like about Fears — something that’s in his nature — is the ball doesn’t stick to him. He makes quick decisions and if he receives a pass and knows where he wants to go with it, he wastes no time getting it there, sometimes back to the guy who sent it to him. He fosters ball-movement as well as anyone on MSU’s roster. That showed up even on a night when the rest of his play was a little more shaky.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.