Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 87-75 win over Indiana State

1. MSU would have lost this game a month ago

EAST LANSING – You perhaps had to see the game to know how good a win this was for Michigan State. To know this was probably a game the Spartans would have lost a month ago. When Indiana State kept hitting 3-pointers and took the lead midway through the second half, we’ve seen this MSU team wobble and be overtaken in those situations. Well, not THIS MSU team.

The Spartans might not have planned on scheduling an opponent of this caliber for their first game back after Christmas and their final non-conference tune-up before Big Ten play, but Indiana State also had the misfortune of catching the Spartans at the wrong time. MSU’s previous three games heading into Saturday told us the Spartans had become something more than the crew that played the first month of the season. Saturday’s 87-75 win over the Sycamores further cemented the idea that this is a group that has some teeth to it.

After falling behind 64-59 with 10:38 remaining Saturday, MSU countered with a 16-4 run and never lost control again. The Spartans came up with six stops, three offensive rebounds and forced two turnovers over the next five minutes. They turned the game with the defense that’s become their identity and, just as importantly, with aggressive play on the offensive end. The hesitation and clunkiness of the season’s first month is mostly gone. The hesitation, entirely.

That's what’s known as Quad 1 win — a home win over a top 30 team nationally in the NET rankings.

"As good of a team as we've played," Tom Izzo said, sounding relieved, happy with his team and thrilled with the crowd for propelling them at times.

Indiana State is a dizzying offensive team, with shooters seemingly everywhere. The Sycamores hit 14 of their first 28 3-point tries and then missed their final seven, trying to play catch-up. They trapped MSU defensively early and forced the Spartans to figure their way out of it.

The players MSU is counting on delivered: Tyson Walker with 22 points (hitting all 10 free throws); Jaden Akins taking 10 shots and hitting five; A.J. Hoggard with 17 points and playing a smart floor game, including just two turnovers; Malik Hall with 18 points and eight rebounds, setting the tone with a couple physical rebounds; Holloman with a strong second half after struggling in the first. In their first game without Jeremy Fears Jr., the Spartans were not the same exact team, but they were enough. They were really good.

“I think we were just a little bit uptight during those moments (earlier in the season), acting as if we haven't been in those situations before,” Hoggard said. “But now, we're just embracing it and gritting it out. … When things weren’t going our way, we responded well.”

When the season began, no one around MSU’s basketball program would have signed up for an 8-5 start with two Big Ten losses heading into January and into the heart of conference play.

Everyone around MSU would have signed up to be playing like this — with four straight wins, three against quality opponents. Indiana State will very likely be in the NCAA tournament, like James Madison. You can see the difference in the Spartans.

2. The best two players on the court didn’t have single high-major scholarship offer

Big-school coaches don’t like small guards. And they continue to pay for it. Some coach in the Big Ten or ACC or some other major conference will be fired after this season because they didn’t have enough scoring punch or playmaking at the guard position. They could have Indiana State’s Isaiah Swope. MSU’s Tyson Walker was once available.

The best two players on the court Saturday — Walker and Swope — didn’t have a single scholarship offer from a high-major school between them. Swope, who began his career at the University of Southern Indiana after playing his high school basketball in a small town in southern Indiana, would stand out on any roster in the Big Ten, home-state Purdue and Indiana included. No one should question that after Saturday’s performance against MSU — he finished with 26 points, including 6-for-13 on 3-point tries, scoring off the dribble, on the drive and on the catch. Walker, obviously, has become a known commodity nationally over the last couple seasons as a versatile shot-creator, scorer and superb defender.

Walker is generously listed at 6-1. Swope is 5-10. Neither were instant stars at the mid- or low-major level. They were good players as freshmen at Northeastern and Southern Indiana, respectively, and great players as sophomores. MSU scooped up Walker. Indiana State smartly grabbed Swope. If they were three inches taller, they’d have been big-time recruits. College coaches don’t want to lose with small guards. It’s a tale as old as modern times — from Rashad Phillips through Tyler Ulis, Walker and Swope. Instead, they sometimes pay the price for passing on them.

3. Freshman thoughts – the Indiana State edition

This section might be less frequent minus Jeremy Fears Jr. But not having him available impacted this game, most notably how often MSU pushed the ball up the court. Fears did that naturally and constantly, even after made baskets. Beyond A.J. Hoggard, MSU’s other ball-handlers — Tyson Walker and Tre Holloman — don’t push it as reflexively. So when Hoggard’s not in the game, MSU loses some of its pace and its quick-strike ability. That’s something to watch and something MSU will have to adjust to / work on without Fears, who sat on the bench Saturday and used crutches to move around, early in his recovery after being shot in the leg over Christmas break.

Coen Carr was very much a presence on the court in Saturday’s game, mostly around the rim. The first of his two alley-oop dunks, on a pass from Walker, had even the end of the Indiana State bench in awe. The height and angle in which Carr caught it and threw it down was something that isn’t normal, even for athletes who see alley-oops all the time.

Carr’s biggest impact right now — other than being able to get any pass anywhere near the rim — is his help-side defense. This was a tough game for Carr with how the Sycamores play offense, with lots of action behind the ball, cutting to the rim. But a couple times he recognized it and made a play. He’s getting better and better at that.

Given Indiana State’s sophisticated off-ball movement, the number of shooters the Sycamores had on the court and MSU lack of control of this game, this wasn’t day built for Xavier Booker. I thought he might see the court for a brief stretch in the first half, but understand why he didn’t. MSU won’t face many teams that shoot like this or move like Indiana State did in the Big Ten. But it’s very much up in the air if or how much Booker will be part of the rotation over the next two months.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State basketball beats Indiana State: 3 quick takes