Michigan State Basketball: 3 things we learned vs. Duke
Here are three things we learned from Michigan State basketball’s fourth loss of the season — this time to Duke.
Playing at Cameron Indoor Stadium has its disadvantages, and Michigan State basketball felt the rash of Duke momentum on Tuesday night. The Cameron Crazies were out in full force as the Blue Devils won their share of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, 78-69.
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The game was much closer than people were expecting, but even after watching it, it felt like Michigan State held its own. Moreover, the Spartans had plenty of chances to trim the Blue Devils’ lead, but failed to do so.
Michigan State got better on Tuesday night and should be in for a steady couple of months as the Big Ten looks very winnable this season.
Here’s what we learned from the game Tuesday.
1. Nick Ward is getting better by the game
You can just see the progress from Nick Ward each game. The freshman big man will likely be a 3-4 year player for Tom Izzo and if he keeps improving at this rate, he might just break some records.
Ward played just 14 minutes on Tuesday night and scored 11 points while grabbing three rebounds. He would have had 13 points and four rebounds but the referees blatantly botched an offensive goaltending call. This kid will be an even bigger force by the time Big Ten play rolls around, and that’s a scary thought.
2. Turnovers were the difference
We can sit here and blame the refs, which would be easy since they were suspect, but the main area that did this team in was the turnover department. Michigan State finished with 18 turnovers and in a road game against the No. 5 team in the country, that will lead to a loss about 95 percent of the time. The Spartans played well, but if they cut the turnovers and silly mistakes in half, they might have pulled off an upset.
3. This team got better on Tuesday
Tom Izzo said it best: this team got better on Tuesday, despite the loss. Michigan State played well enough in the first half to give it a shot to win in the final 20 minutes. However, poor turnovers and foul trouble did the Spartans in. If Michigan State can play the way it did in the first half in hostile territory for the rest of the year, we might be looking at a deep run in March.
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