What a way to kickoff the season. No. 4 Michigan State basketball fell to No. 9 Tennessee in an exciting exhibition match-up on Sunday. The final score was 89 to 88.
While fans would have loved to see the Spartans win this one, I don’t think anyone is going to complain too much about what they just saw in that exhibition, as both teams played like it was March. This was a high-energy, high-intensity game that the Spartans nearly won, but a controversial call on Tre Holloman in the closing seconds allowed Tennessee to win the game on a free throw.
Michigan State started slow in this one, but repeatedly worked through huge deficits to make this a super exciting game. The Spartans were led by Tyson walker, who scored 22 points. Malik Hall had 14 and Jaden Akins had 12.
This was the first time we got to see Coen Carr in a live game against a formidable opponent for MSU, and the freshman looked great. My early impression is that this team will likely hit their full potential once Carr and fellow freshman Jeremy Fears Jr. get comfortable.
Tennessee was led by their fantastic transfers, Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey, who scored 28 and 20, respectively.
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