With his Michigan State Spartans up 14 in the second half, coach Tom Izzo put his hands on the scoreboard and leaned back, looking like a man who didn’t have a care in the world. That might have been a bit premature, but no matter: Michigan State basically punked Duke in the Champions Classic, winning 79-73. The Spartans were far more aggressive and hard-nosed, and they dominated Duke for most of the game. They absolutely deserved the win.
The final margin was 6 points, but for most of the game, and
especially in the first half, Michigan State was in total control.
In the opening minutes, Duke dug a hole it never got out of, largely due to turnovers. Pat Ngongba, who had been ill for a few days this week, traveled twice. JoJo Boumtje Boumtje threw a risky pass. There was more, and the Spartans capitalized on all of it.
Michigan State shot out to an 11-3 lead, and while Duke eventually got better organized, the Spartans dominated this game physically. At the half, Michigan State was up 34-25.
The second half was somewhat better. Duke nearly doubled its first-half production. They got close on a few occasions, but in the end, the difference was that Michigan State was relentless and Duke backed down. One example: 6-8 Jordan Scott had 6 blocks, matching Duke’s total by himself.
The Blue Devils shot an anemic 33 percent overall, and just 24 percent from behind the line. It’s worth pointing out that Duke left 11 points at the free throw line, more than enough to have pulled out the victory. Ngongba hit just 7-13 there.
When you get right down to it, Michigan State just hit Duke in the mouth, literally in the case of Ngongba, who took a major shot to the mouth at the very end of the game. It wasn’t just him, though.
Dame Sarr got undercut. It was clearly not intentional, but it still looked painful. Caleb Foster hit the floor as well, and for a minute, it looked like he might not get up.
All of that was unfortunate, but Michigan State, while highly physical, is not a dirty team. Duke could have played with the same intensity. They just didn’t do it.
Fortunately, it’s the third game of the season, and there are lessons to be learned from failure. Duke plays SIU-Edwardsville next, and practices this week are likely to be intense, at least for those who didn’t get beat up on Tuesday night. After that, Illinois comes to Cameron, and hopefully the lessons learned Tuesday night will be applied in both contests.
Notes – Boumtje Boumtje had some moments, but he was not particularly effective…not a big surprise, given that he’s 17 and still learning the college game…be patient…Drew Scharnowski was pretty effective, scoring 8, and shooting 4-5 from the line…he also pulled down 8 rebounds…Sebastian Wilkins had 9 points…Deron Rippey shot just 1-5 for two points…Jeremy Fears had 11 assists…8 came in the first half…Michigan State had questions about the post going into this game, and they still do, but the Spartans are athletic and quick everywhere else….they very much looked like national title contenders from here…Go to the DBR Boards to find Blue Healer Auctions || Drop us a line
