Michigan State welcomed in Illinois on Saturday afternoon, a huge matchup for the Spartans. MSU was able to take care of business against the Fighting Illini, getting a huge quad 1 win, 88-80.
The consequences of this win have the potential to be massive for Michigan State, who found themselves in a very peculiar spot coming into Saturday’s matchup.
Now, the Spartans have picked up a massive win, and could potentially be ready to finally turn the corner and start being the team fans have expected.
Let’s take a look at three takeaways from MSUs huge win over Illinois:
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1. The Big Four
There’s no secret that MSU has a big four of Tyson Walker, AJ Hoggard, Jaden Akins and Malik Hall, and the Spartans go as far as these four will take them.
When those four our clicking, as we saw on Saturday, MSU has a ceiling that could lead them to a Final Four. Finding that consistency down the stretch is imperative for the Spartans to truly hit their ceiling.
One thing is for sure, MSU can compete with anyone in the country if these four guys are on their game, as they showed on Saturday.
2. The Center Spot
When MSU needed a spark in the first half, it was Jaxon Kohler who gave the Spartans solid minutes, where he went +10. Secondly, it was Carson Cooper’s defense on Coleman Hawkins that totally changed the game.
The moral of the story, it is time for the future of the center position to be the right now. MSU will be asking a lot of their two centers in the next two seasons, but it might be time for those two sophomore centers to step up now.
Mady Sissoko’s story, coming to America and MSU is wonderful, and he is a great person to have in the program, but it is time for his minutes to get limited, and Kohler to step up in his place.
3. NCAA Tournament
Saturday’s win was a tremendous resume boost for MSU, earning a Q1a win over the Illini, and steadying the ship. Had MSU lost to Illinois, life would have started to get real uncomfortable for Spartan fans.
Michigan State came into Saturday’s game as high as an 8-seed and as low as being in the first four, as part of the ‘last 4 in’, according to members of the Bracket Matrix.
It’s no secret that between the projected 7-seed and the ‘first four out’ is a log jam of teams with very similar resumes, so finding a way to separate yourself is imperative, and MSU was able to do that on Saturday, giving themselves some breathing room.
