College Basketball

Michigan State Basketball: Report card for victory over Michigan

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:07 p.m. ET

Fansided, Connor Muldowney/FanSided via Spartan Avenue

1Jan 29, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo talks with guard Cassius Winston during the first half of a game against the Michigan Wolverines at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State basketball picked up a big win on Sunday afternoon against Michigan and here’s how the performance graded out.

It wasn’t pretty, but not many rivalry victories come easy. Michigan State took down Michigan on Sunday afternoon, pushing its record to 13-9 overall and 5-4 in conference play. The Big Ten is becoming a bit crowded in the middle of the pack with a number of teams sitting at 4-4, 5-4 or 4-5 in conference action.

With the loss, Michigan dropped to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. They played a tough, hard-fought game and still managed to keep it close despite shooting just 34 percent from the floor and 27 percent from 3-point range.

Michigan State ended a three-game losing streak and this could be a major step in the right direction for the Spartans. How did their performance grade out on Sunday?

Bench: A

The Spartans’ bench had one of its best games of the season, scoring 33 points and out-scoring the Wolverines’ by 18.

Cassius Winston, Matt McQuaid and Alvin Ellis III combined for 31 of the 33 while Kenny Goins added the other two. Matt Van Dyk and Kyle Ahrens went scoreless in a combined four minutes, showing that their roles have decreased greatly since the beginning of Big Ten play.

Winston led the way with 16 points and three assists and he was clutch down the stretch. He had a couple of big and-ones and really provided a spark off the pine.

McQuaid was the same way, but he finished with nine on three 3-pointers. He proved to be a difference-maker off the bench and finally made his shots. Maybe that’s the start of him getting his confidence back.

Ellis also added a couple of 3-pointers, but made some silly turnovers in the process.

Jan 29, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Nick Ward (44) reacts to a play during the first half of a game against the Michigan Wolverines at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Starters: B+

Michigan State’s starters only get a B+ grade because only half of them showed up to play. Eron Harris did his best disappearing act yet again, scoring just four points in 18 minutes, and Josh Langford struggled, scoring just one point and had two rebounds.

It’s hard to count Tum Tum Nairn on either side of this because you can never truly expect him to put points on the board, but he did finish with four and four assists. For him, that’s a solid performance, but he also had four personal fouls, including a questionable one on a Derrick Walton 3-pointer late in the game.

Nick Ward and Miles Bridges were the true standouts in the starting lineup, though. The two freshmen continue to be consistent contributors and two of the best in the Big Ten.

Ward played just 16 minutes, finishing with 13 points and two rebounds. One of his standout plays was a defensive battle in which he bodied Michigan’s Mo Wagner in the post and the Wolverine big man thought he had an easy hook shot, but Ward swatted it away. Ward also finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor.

Bridges led all starters, for the second straight game, with 15 points and he added a team-high 13 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. He led the team in every category and only turned the ball over once, which is a major improvement for him.

Jan 29, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Nick Ward (44) fights for position against Michigan Wolverines forward D.J. Wilson (5) during the first half of a game at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Rebounding: D+

This area of the game for Michigan State continues to befuddle me. Michigan has a thinner post presence than Michigan State and still found a way to out-rebound the Spartans. The Wolverines did only finished with one more board than the Spartans, but even that is a cause for concern.

Nick Ward continues to play with a target on his back and the rebounding for him bas become much more difficult. He finished with just two rebounds and a lot of that was due to the fact that Michigan’s 20 missed 3-pointers mostly resulted in long rebounds — meaning the ball bounced off the rim back toward the perimeter.

Miles Bridges was one of the lone bright spots on the glass, finishing with 13 rebounds which was nearly half of what the Spartans had as a team. However, even that number was less than the amount of offensive rebounds Michigan finished with.

Yes, you read that correctly, Michigan finished with 14 offensive rebounds and point guard Derrick Walton Jr. finished with a team-high nine boards and three on the offensive glass. That’s unacceptable for the Spartans. Those 14 offensive rebounds could have been the difference between a down-to-the-wire game like it was or an MSU blowout.

The game should have been over earlier, but second-chance points kept Michigan in it.

Jan 29, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward D.J. Wilson (5) drives the baseline against Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) during the first half of a game at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Defense: A-

Michigan State has to be happy with the way it played on the defensive side of the ball. This was arguably the second-best defensive performance by the Spartans in conference play, following up the Minnesota game in which they only allowed 47 points.

The Spartans contested just about every shot from the Wolverines and if they could continue to play defense like that throughout Big Ten action, there might not be a team in the conference that could overcome that. There is so much athleticism on the roster that Michigan State’s defense can be suffocating when it wants to, but often times it collapses too early and teams get open shots.

In fact, Michigan State is usually quick to bite on a pump fake or crash the board before a shot is even up, giving opponents one extra pass to a wide open perimeter shot.

Fortunately for Michigan State, the perimeter defense was on point Sunday afternoon. Michigan made just 7-of-27 3-pointers just one game after torching Indiana for 11 in 21 tries. The Spartans held the Wolverines to just 34 percent shooting from the field, forced 13 turnovers and had eight steals.

There was a stretch where Michigan turned the ball over 6-of-7 possessions and it was due to aggressive Michigan State defense.

Without free throws, the Spartans allowed just 45 points — Michigan made 17-of-19 free throws.

Jan 24, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Cassius Winston (5) gesture the crowd during the second half of a game against the Purdue Boilermakers at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Offense: B+

How do the Spartans only finish with a B+ on offense after making over 50 percent of their shots from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range? Well, finishing with just 70 points after shooting that well also means that there were some blown possessions. Michigan State turned the ball over 11 times and had some rushed fast breaks.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: 3 things we learned from Michigan win

In fact, there were multiple instances where Michigan State could have added easy baskets, but tried to force things and came up empty. First, there was an errant pass by Cassius Winston to Nick Ward on a breakaway that would have been an easy layup if it was passed to the correct side, but rather resulted in a turnover.

Next, there was an errant alley-oop try from Winston to Miles Bridges that sailed out of bounds — he has a tendency to try and force slick passes. Alvin Ellis then tried to hit a wide open Kenny Goins under the basket but threw it about 10 feet over his head and then Matt McQuaid decided to take a fast break layup by himself instead of passing off while outnumbered, missing the basket.

Although these are minor plays on the offensive side of the ball, they all add up. Michigan State could have had eight easy points right there and this wouldn’t have even been that close to end the game.

Cutting down the silly mistakes and unforced turnovers will be the next step in becoming a complete team.