With two weeks until Selection Sunday, every game takes on more importance for seeding purposes. We also know there are no easy road games in the Big Ten. So, it was no cake walk for Michigan State basketball to go to Bloomington and beat an Indiana team fighting for its March Madness life right now. Nonetheless, MSU weathered quite a few pushes from the Hoosiers to leave with a 77-64 win.
Below, you can see our top three takeaways from the win, plus one honorable mention:
1. MSU figuring out the best use of Kur Teng is of major importance
Kur Teng shot the ball like Steph Curry on Sunday, scoring 18 points, all on 3-pointers. He also continues to get lit up on defense at times. MSU desperately needs his shooting in stretches to keep defenses honest and keep the offense flowing, but they have to be very strategic about when to deploy him. It has been a challenge for Izzo and his staff all year, but it’s safe to say that Teng’s usage will be a major topic around this team moving forward.
2. Welcome back, Jaxon Kohler
After starting the season red hot, Jaxon Kohler fell back to earth for the past month or so. Consequently, it was extremely encouraging to see the Spartans’ big man drop 21 points on the Hoosiers. He hit three 3-pointers and nabbed 13 rebounds. Jaxon Kohler hitting threes changes many things for MSU’s offense.
3. Jeremy Fears Jr. with another All-American performance
We need to make sure to never take Jeremy Fears Jr. for granted: 21 points, nine assists, four rebounds and a steal is basically business as usual for Fears. That is absurd. He will have an extremely strong case for both the All-American team and the Big Ten Player of the Year this season.
Honorable Mention: More Coen Carr minutes at power forward please
I don’t think plus-minus is the end-all, be-all by any means, but it can be a useful statistic. It might surprise some fans to learn that Coen Carr, who had a rather pedestrian stat line in this game (six points, two rebounds and a block) led the Spartans with a plus-minus of plus-19. For the uninitiated, that means that MSU outscored Indiana by 19 points in the minutes Carr was on the court.
I have noticed that, in the last few games, Izzo has committed to giving Carr minutes at the four, where he spent more time last year. Carr just looks far more comfortable in that role, and the offense looks better when it’s not relying on Carr to be a spacer. Like Kur Teng, MSU will need to figure out how to best make use of Coen Carr’s talents if it wants to reach this team’s ceiling in the postseason.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Three takeaways from Michigan State basketball’s win over Indiana
Reporting by Andrew Brewster, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
