Spartans dominant from start to finish in rout
EAST LANSING – Christmas came early for Michigan State basketball.
Scoring at every level to stuff the stocking. A defense blanketing Stony Brook like a fresh snowfall to the ground. And plenty of giving — both the Spartans delivering assists like presents and turning the Seawolves’ gifted turnovers into points at the other end.
And even a first college basket for Nick Sanders, son of Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Barry. A 3-pointer off an assist from Steven Izzo, son of Basketball Hall of Famer Tom.
The elder Izzo demanded a businesslike approach to his team’s final game before the holiday break on his wishlist, and he got that and more. MSU raced out to a 20-4 lead a little over six minutes into Thursday night at Breslin Center and was never challenged, coasting to a 9955 victory.
“Today, they came with some vigor,” Izzo said. “That was a really encouraging part, because that showed maturity.”
Jaden Akins broke out of his early-season funk with a career-high 22 points, 13 of those in the first half. The Spartans led by 36 points before halftime, their largest lead over the first 20 minutes of a game since Dec. 29, 2017 against Cleveland State. Tyson Walker added 17 points, while A.J. Hoggard finished with 12 points and 10 assists, and freshman Xavier Booker added career highs with 11 points and seven rebounds.
“I feel like this is how we can play,” said Akins, whose previous high was 21 as a freshman against Iowa on Feb. 13, 2021. “When we’re focused, when our minds are right, when we come out with that type of intensity, I feel like this is the team that people were expecting for us throughout the year. And I feel like it’s the team that we’re gonna be the rest of the year.”
MSU shot 59.4% overall, made 12-of-31 from 3-point range, and had 33 assists on 38 made baskets, which is tied for fifth-most in a single game in MSU program history. The Spartans also scored 20 points off 11 Stony Brook turnovers, six of those a result of MSU steals.
“We’re just kind of trying to figure out how to swing the ball, get everybody involved and keep moving with our momentum we have right now,” Hoggard said.
It continued a strong three-game week that began Saturday in Detroit with an 88-64 blowout of then-No. 6 Baylor, which was MSU’s scoring high for the season until Thursday. The Spartans (7-5) also beat Oakland on Monday in East Lansing and have won three straight for the first time this season after losing back-toback Big Ten games to Wisconsin and Nebraska.
Izzo and his players will disperse for the holiday, then reconvene after to prepare for a Dec. 30 game with Indiana State (2 p.m., FS1). That is MSU’s final nonconference game before resuming Big Ten play at home against Penn State on Jan. 4.
Keenan Fitzmorris had 10 points and six rebounds for the Seawolves (6-6), who did keep things close on the boards, with MSU finishing with a 45-41 advantage.
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It was clear early that MSU wanted to get others beyond Walker going, and it started with Hoggard and Akins.
Not that Walker wasn’t active early, scoring
10 of his 13 first-half points in the first 71⁄2 minutes to help put the Spartans up 24-7 by the 12minute mark. Much of that came as a byproduct of how active Akins and Hoggard were early.
Akins got an alley-oop layup in transition after a Hoggard steal and dish, then had seven straight points later in the half on a pair of lob dunks and a 3-pointer. The 6-foot-4 junior had 13 points at halftime on 6-for-7 shooting, nearly equaling his season high of the 14 points he scored against Georgia Southern.
Hoggard, meantime, led the sharing efforts with five first-half assists. But the 6-4 senior point guard also attacked off the dribble and got to the free-throw line on a three-point play early. Hoggard also hit a 3-pointer and got to the line again later for eight first-half points.
Izzo has said all week he felt paranoid about a potential letdown, particularly with players’ departures for Christmas break approaching. He said he texted Hoggard on Wednesday night about an upset loss by another team nationally and received a surprising and heartening response.
“His text back was, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll have them ready to play.’ And I said, ‘Well, that means he’s starting to take over the team,’” Izzo said. “That’s very encouraging. Very encouraging. I thought he did a phenomenal job of that.”
Tre Holloman also continued to do a little of everything with a 3-pointer, four rebounds, and three assists at the half as MSU shot 55.9% overall and hit 5 of 15 from 3-point range. But the Spartans’ defense started everything, shutting down the Seawolves for long stretches as part of a 25-2 run that spanned 11-plus minutes. Stony Brook went 2-for-19 from 3-point range and just 6-for-31 overall.
“We definitely feel good,” Walker said. “We made some shots - we weren’t making them before, we made them now. We’re guarding better. In the first half, we’re getting better starts. And now, we gotta carry it over when we get back.”
Freshmen flash
Booker also played a strong nine minutes off the bench in the first half, grabbed five rebounds and converted a lob-dunk off one of Jeremy Fears Jr.’s six first-half assists.
There definitely was a visible improvement with Booker defensively, though he did fail to finish chasing a breakaway layup after a Fears turnover midway through the second half that the big man could have blocked. However, Booker made up for that by blocking a shot and then running the middle of the floor in transition a few minutes later, taking an entry pass off the bounce from Akins for a dunk.
Fears had a career-high 10 assists, while fellow freshman Coen Carr added eight points and six rebounds.