Michigan State basketball to face 'different level' vs. Duke in Champions Classic

EAST LANSING — When Tom Izzo looks across the court Tuesday night at United Center in Chicago, the opposing bench is going to look much different.

Mike Krzyzewski won’t be on the Duke sideline.

The Champions Classic matchup between No. 19 Michigan State basketball and the No. 9 Blue Devils is the first marquee matchup of the college basketball regular season for the Spartans. And even though they’ve already faced No. 8 Tennessee in a thrilling exhibition loss, Izzo knows games against Duke tend to take on a different tenor.

“This has been a very good rivalry in its own way for two teams that aren't in the same conference,” Izzo said Monday. “Unfortunately, they have won more than we have, but I think 90% of the games have been very, very, very good games. And I expect this will be a dogfight, too.”

MSU is 5-7 all-time in the Champions Classic, which began in 2011 with a 74-69 loss to the Blue Devils. The Spartans are 1-4 in the revolving four-team event against Duke.

However, those all were against Krzyzewski, who owned a 13-3 all-time edge over Izzo, the last of which was an 85-76 comeback victory that eliminated MSU from the 2022 NCAA tournament second round in Greenville, South Carolina. The legendary Duke coach lost in the Final Four that year, his record 13th, and finished his 29-year coaching career with 1,202 victories, the most in NCAA Division I history.

This will be the first meeting between Izzo and second-year Duke coach Jon Scheyer, who took over last season after serving as Krzyzewski’s top assistant and coach-in-waiting.

“I'm a little mad at Mike that he didn't let us win a few more of those games,” Izzo said. “But other than that, I recruited Jon Scheyer. I've known Jon, he's done a good job there, some of the staff is the same. And yet it will be different not looking down there and not seeing Mike Krzyzewski. That will be different for me, for sure.”

Here's what to watch for who will be on the floor Tuesday night:

Wanting more

Izzo continued his quest to demand more from three veteran leaders in point guard A.J. Hoggard, wing Jaden Akins and forward Malik Hall after the trio endured their share of struggles in the first two games.

“You'll never be critical of something you don't think you can get and you just accept,” Izzo said. “I'm going to be critical, if that's what you call it. I call it coaching.”

Akins is averaging 8.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, but he has missed all six of his 3-point attempts. Hall has been inconsistent in his return from offseason foot surgery, and he’s posting 8.0 points and 5.0 rebounds.

But Izzo’s strongest opinions continue to be reserved for Hoggard, who he said he’s “looking for him to be me on the court.” The 6-foot-4 senior is averaging just 6.5 points while shooting just 22.2%. He has just seven assists to four turnovers and only four rebounds.

“I'm gonna be critical if he's not given me all the things that I think — that I know — he can give me,” Izzo said. “And I know he wants it.”

Senior Tyson Walker continues to lead the Spartans at 24.5 points with six steals, but he is just 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Akins also has four steals.

Looking to improve

The Spartans are coming off a relatively lackluster 74-51 victory Thursday over Southern Indiana, a program that is in its second year of a transition from Division II. That came after MSU dropped its first home-opener since 1976, 79-76 in overtime to James Madison on Nov. 9.

The Dukes entered the AP poll this week at No. 24 but are not in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Both early opponents a long way from perennial powerhouse Duke.

“Tomorrow's at a different level,” Izzo said of facing the Blue Devils, who lost at home Friday to No. 3 Arizona, 78-73.

“As you've seen around college basketball, everybody's trying to figure out who they got, what they got. And that's what we're trying to do, too. I still like what we got. We gotta put guys in better position to be successful. A.J. would be one of them. And yet we gotta get a little bit more out of a couple of guys, and Malik and Jaden would be those two guys.”

The Spartans enter the Champions Classic just 2-for-31 from 3-point range and shooting 41.1% overall as a team. After getting outrebounded by three against JMU, MSU barely edged undersized USI by two.

“We're just gonna have to shoot the ball better. Big surprise,” Izzo said. “We've shot it well this week. But that's not all I'm looking at. I'm looking at, can we rebound the ball better?”

Magic pep talk

Izzo said Magic Johnson visited practice last week and spent time with the team.

The NBA and MSU legend spent an hour, alone, talking to players.

“Because I told him I didn't want to be in there, just you talk to them,” Izzo said. “And he did something pretty cool, I guess. It's just hearsay, but he asked each player to ask him a question that he thought would help the team. That's a pretty cool idea, I'd never heard of that one.”

Izzo joked that he needed to find out what his son, Steven, asked. But he also polled his new guys — former five-star recruits Xavier Booker and Jeremy Fears Jr., and four-star rookies Coen Carr and Gehrig Normand — about their impressions of meeting Magic.

“Some of the freshman. I said, 'Well, how was that?' And their eyes were this big,” Izzo said. “They were this big, because they were amazed how humble and how just regular he is. And that's a gift.”

Opponent update

Duke presents a challenge for MSU's big men. Sophomore Kyle Filipowski averages 25 points with 7.5 rebounds, and the Spartans likely will mix-and-match Mady Sissoko (6-10), Carson Cooper (6-11) and Booker (6-11) on defense, though Izzo said he could even throw a quicker guard — possibly Coen Carr — against the 7-foot, 248-pound center. The Blue Devils also have plenty of depth inside, with 6-9 sophomore Mark Mitchell (nine points, five rebounds) starting at forward and reserve post options in 7-1 Christian Reeves, 7-foot Stanley Borden and 6-10 Ryan Young, a Northwestern grad transfer.

On the perimeter, 6-2 senior guard Jeremy Roach is averaging 15.5 points and hitting 42.9% from 3-point range. Tyrese Proctor, a 6-5 sophomore, averages eight points and 6.5 assists, and freshman Jared McCain is scoring 8.5 points and hitting 42.9% from deep in his first two games. Filipowski also is an outside threat, making 57.1% from behind the arc through two games.

“Those guards are lethal,” Izzo said. “They can all shoot it. They're very athletic, they're very quick. Not real big, so that's actually a good matchup for us, because we're not real big at the guard position.”

Last meeting

In Duke’s 2022 NCAA tournament win over MSU, Roach scored 15 points and is the only Blue Devil returning who played in that game. Hoggard had 14 points and two assists in that game for the Spartans, while Walker scored just six. Hall had two points and five rebounds, while Akins was scoreless.

Prediction

Next up: Blue Devils

Matchup: No. 19 Michigan State (1-1) vs. No. 9 Duke (1-1).

Tipoff: 7 p.m. Tuesday; United Center, Chicago.

TV/radio: ESPN; WJR-AM (760).

Chris Solari's prediction: The Spartans shake their shooting funk and look more like the team that gave the Vols fits for three-fourths of the exhibition matchup, and Walker continues to pace their offense and defense. But MSU’s lack of depth and comparable talent in the post proves the issue here, with Filipowski a matchup problem Izzo’s big men can’t solve. The pick: Duke 78, Michigan State 72.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball vs. Duke: Scouting report, prediction