1. Two shots from Kohler that show why his 3-point shot is so important to MSU
FORT MYERS, Fla. — It’s one thing to look this committed to defense, rebounding and running against Kentucky. When it shows up against East Carolina — and in pretty much every game during a 6-0 start — it’s probably something we can just count on from this Michigan State basketball team. In games like this, it eliminates the risks of an upset entirely.
MSU made 13 of 26 3-pointers Tuesday and that made the final score against East Carolina what it was Tuesday afternoon — 89-56 in the Spartans’ first game at the Fort Myers Tip-off. But this was always gong to be a comfortable win, because the identity of this team is something I think we can trust will travel, even if helped Tuesday by a partisan MSU crowd packing a relatively small arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College.
That also doesn’t mean the 3s are insignificant. Against better teams, MSU will need them to fall — which we’ve now seen in two of the last three games. And I think the 3s made by a couple players Tuesday were more important than others, especially those from Jaxon Kohler and Jordan Scott.
For MSU to reach its ceiling this season, Kohler will have to be a weapon from the perimeter. Two 3-point shots he made in a blowout win Tuesday showed the value of his outside shot for this team. The first came with the score 9-9 and East Carolina starting to feel some hope after a shaky start. Kohler buried a 3 from the top of the key — over 6-foot-10 Eli DeLaurier. That started a 14-2 run, capped by another Kohler 3, and MSU was in control the rest of the way.
At the beginning of the second half, after a couple fruitless MSU possessions and two quick buckets from East Carolina, Kohler hit another, putting the Spartans ahead 50-28 and killing any thought East Carolina might have had about making this interesting. It kicked MSU into gear and the Spartans scored 25 of the next 29 points to turn this into an extremely comfortable win.
The timing of those two 3s were important. And would be more important against a different opponent. MSU needs Kohler to hit those. He’s 10-for-22 from beyond the arc for the season after Tuesday’s 4-for-4 performance. His outside shot could unlock a lot this season for the Spartans.
“If he’s somebody where if he gets a look and he’s a dynamic shooter — and his percentages are high right now — it’s a huge defensive nightmare,” East Carolina coach Michael Schwartz said of Kohler hitting 3s.
2. That’s exactly what MSU needs from Ugochukwu
It’ll be interesting to see where Divine Ugochukwu’s season goes from here. But this was unquestionably his best game yet at MSU. It came on a day when Jeremy Fears Jr. was in foul trouble in the first half and it was Ugochukwu’s show more than it’s been.
This is what MSU needs from its backup point guard and then some. Not as much the 16 points and 3 of 4 3-pointers made — though that would definitely be welcomed, especially when he’s playing off the ball — but the game control and the defensive fight. He had two assists, two rebounds and one turnover (when he slipped) in 16 minutes. If he hadn’t been in the game for some of the final minutes, his plus-minus would have been in the high 20s, on a night he was often in the game with MSU’s second unit. He was really good. And MSU, which leans on Fears a ton, could use Ugochukwu to be really good in his role.
RELATED: Couch: Divine Ugochukwu showed signs Tuesday of being the player MSU basketball needs him to be. He needed it, too.
3. Freshman thoughts — the East Carolina in Fort Myers edition
Jordan Scott has done so many good things early in his freshman season — everything but hit outside shots. For a shooter by pedigree, you could look at his 0-for-9 start beyond the arc through five games a couple different ways: One, that the shots will come, so that he’s doing other things to make himself valuable matters more at this stage; or that it might take him a while to find his shot at this level, and that will limit his role.
At least now he doesn’t have to wonder when he’ll make his first 3-pointer. He hit the second one he took on Tuesday, from the right corner to give MSU a 44–21 lead. A few seconds later, he was on the floor diving after a loose ball on the other end of the court. His stat line on Tuesday was pretty standard for him, in a good way — three points, one steal and plus-17 in 12 minutes. He didn’t contribute on the glass the way he often does or hit another 3 (he missed his last two, one of them blocked). But he usually makes MSU better. If he starts also hitting outside shots at a regular clip, he’ll be tough to keep off the floor.
Cam Ward is this year’s version of Jase Richardson in this sense — the efficiency in which he plays and his readiness for this level jump out every time he’s on the court, even when he’s just fitting in. Ward had some moments Tuesday that stood out, including a rim-running layup ahead of the defense and a stay-with-it bucket, after he was denied at the rim on an initial alley-oop attempt. A lot of what he did, though — on his way to nine points, four rebounds and an assist in 18 minutes, during which MSU was plus-28 —was take what was there, on the glass, at the rim offensively.
It’s not often you land two freshman who make you better instantly without being headliners. MSU has found that in Ward and Scott.
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball’s 89-56 win over East Carolina at Fort Myers Tip-off
Reporting by Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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