Michigan State faced East Carolina in the first of two games in the Fort Myers Tip-Off where the Spartans were able to roll to victory after a somewhat slow start.
MSU led 8-3 at the first media timeout, which came with 14:30 remaining. The Spartans were able to get their running game going early with a layup from Coen Carr and a Trey Fort dunk off a lob pass from Jeremy Fears. The MSU defense was stingy in the early going in forcing four ECU turnovers but the Spartans committed five of their own,
preventing an opportunity for an even bigger lead.
The sleepy start continued into the next media timeout with 11:57 to go as East Carolina pulled within three, at 12-9. The Spartans committed two more turnovers while Jordan Riley hit a triple and Corey Faulkner added a nice floater for ECU to keep them in the game. Worse, for MSU, Carr appeared to slip on a wet spot on the floor going into the media timeout and it looked like he aggravated his groin.
Carr stayed on the bench coming out of the break and Tom Izzo completed a full line change with Kur Teng, Cam Ward, Jordan Scott, Jesse McCulloch, and Divine Ugochukwu on the floor. It was this group that created some separation for the Spartans, starting with a Teng three. Ugochukwu added another three and then found Ward for an easy layup. It was 20-11, MSU at the halfway point of the half.
Fortunately, for the Spartans, Carr was able to return after the Pirates called timeout to try to stem the Spartan run. Kohler added another three and it was 25-14 Spartans with 7:48 to go. Two of the worst three point shooting teams in the country were doing a lot of damage from beyond the arc in the early going. MSU was 4-7 at this point but ECU was nearly keeping pace in hitting three of their seven tries from deep.
Fears and Kohler both picked up their second fouls and went to the bench but the Spartans started taking better care of the ball. MSU extended the lead to 36-19 with 3:32 left in the half. Fears added another three, Cooper had a high-flying alley-oop dunk, Fort was rewarded for running hard on the break with a layup and Ward put back a Jordan Scott missed three.
MSU’s full second line was on the floor again coming out of the last media break and Divine Ugochukwu hit a three and then added a layup to put the Spartans up 41-19.
After Denham Wojcik entered for MSU as the 11th Spartan to see the floor in the first half, ECU attempted to play zone. Threes from Jordan Scott and Trey Fort made them pay for that decision and extended the Michigan State lead to 47-24 at halftime.
Exactly half of MSU’s 30 field goal attempts in the first half were threes and the Spartans hit eight of them. After seven early giveaways, MSU only committed one more before halftime. The Spartan defense was active, forcing 13 ECU turnovers which MSU turned into 16 points. Michigan State dominated in the paint (16-6), in second chance points (10-0), on the break (14-4), and off the bench (19-8).
After a rather quiet first half where he scored just two points, Coen Carr exploded for nine in the first five minutes of the second half. Carr scored in his usual manner (two dunks – including another highlight reel jam off the break) as well as from the free throw line and even added a triple against ECU’s 2-3 zone. The lead was up to 61-30 MSU with 14:58 to go.
MSU continued to roll and held a 73-31 lead at the 11:02 mark. Ward added a layup and a dunk, Kohler drained another three, and Ugochukwu had a nice and-one layup finish. Carr stayed hot and hit a nice baby hook from the middle of ECU’s zone.
After leading by as much as 43 in the second half, it ended as an 89-56 Spartan win. Nick Sanders and the Walton twins entered the game with 2:59 to go. Brennan Walton got his first college hoop and added two rebounds for the Spartans.
Kohler led MSU with 16 points on a perfect 6-6 from the floor and also pulled down 8 rebounds. Ugochukwu also scored 16 off the bench for the Spartans while Carr and Cooper also scored in double figures.
After the seven early turnovers, MSU committed only four the rest of the way while taking it away from the Pirates 24 times. This led to a 31-9 advantage for the Spartans in points off turnovers. Michigan State also maintained their huge advantages in fast break points (23-7) and points in the paint (36-12).
Let’s take a look at what went well (most everything) and what didn’t (not much) in MSU’s win over East Carolina.
Likes
- As expected. This was pretty much what you expect the Spartans to do against an overmatched team.
- Three point shooting. MSU was over the 50% mark for the game and finished 13-28. Coming into the game, ECU struggled with three point defense so it was nice to see the Spartans take advantage.
- The second line. MSU had a 35-16 advantage in bench points. Divine Ugochukwu scored 16 on 6-7 shooting, including 3-4 on triples. Jesse McCulloch demonstrated strong post defense against Giovanni Emejuru late in the game and Cam Ward chipped in nine points and four boards.
- No second half letdown. MSU led by as much as 43 in the second half and, after a slow first half which saw him exit briefly with an injury, Coen Carr scored 11 points early in the second half as the Spartans were able to keep their foot on the gas.
Dislikes
- Somewhat of a slow start. The Spartans committed seven early turnovers and held only a 12-9 lead at the second media timeout. It was all MSU from there but Michigan State could benefit from a quicker start on Thursday against North Carolina.
- Fouling. MSU committed 22 personal fouls compared to just 11 for ECU. Michigan State went just 8-12 from the free throw line while the Pirates hit 18 of 26.
- Rebounding. ECU hung in there on the boards as MSU finished with just a 38-34 advantage on the glass. The Spartans did have a 17-5 advantage in second chance points.
What went well and not as well in your view, TOC?
