That was a hell of a ball game.
Tom Izzo rolled out Jeremy Fears, Jasiah Jervis, Jordan Scott, Coen Carr, and Anton Bonke as starters against a Duke team loaded with NBA talent. Michigan State looked more prepared for this battle from the tip as they got out to an 11-2 start behind three from Jervis and Carr. Carr saw early foul trouble and was replaced with Jesse McCulloch as the first sub.
While the offense stalled, the defense was stifling the Blue Devils’ offense. Fears eventually found Cam Ward
for a transition lob to make it a 15-6 game, and the Spartans would take a 22-14 lead with eight minutes left in the first half. Ethan Taylor ended the half with an and-one layup after a pretty drop-off pass from Fears to give Michigan State a 34-25 lead at halftime.
Fears added a couple floaters to hold MSU’s nine-point lead at the first TV timeout of the second half. It was his steal and coast-to-coast and-one layup that blew the roof off the United Center to give the Spartans their biggest lead of the night at 14.
CJ Medlock got in on the fun with a nasty off-the-dribble three from the top of the key. Jervis followed suit with one of the nastiest stepback three-pointers I’ve ever seen out of a freshman at Michigan State. These two freshmen guards play with a whole lot of swagger and confidence when they’re on the court.
Izzo called a timeout up 73-65 with three minutes left. Duke did their best by cutting the MSU lead to five, but Scott’s clutch layup was the dagger needed to put the Blue Devils away. Michigan State led 79-73 at the final buzzer.
If there’s a team that embodies the defensive physicality of a Tom Izzo-led team, it’s this one, especially after a performance like that. Izzo played 11 guys, but the Big Three of Fears, Jervis, and Scott all played more than 30 minutes.
Fears led the way with 18 points, seven rebounds, and 11 assists. He took a whopping 17 free throw attempts and made 12 of them. Jervis added 10 points on only seven shots, but had multiple self-created buckets that were real pretty. Although Scott only had five points, he was everywhere defensively. He had nine rebounds, two steals, and a team-high six blocks.
This is a win that should be celebrated, so I’ll save my Anton Bonke takes for another day, but what a great win for Izzo and this squad as they keep their eyes on the prize of a Final Four in Detroit.
Michigan State is now 3-0 and will surely be moving up in the Top 5 of the rankings. They’ll host Northern Iowa for a Friday night matchup in the Breslin Center.
Go Green!
