Michigan State hosted Division II opponent Ferris State in the Breslin Center on Tuesday night for the Spartans' second exhibition game of the 2024-2025 season, just six days before opening night of the regular season begins.
Following MSU's 70-53 win over Northern Michigan on Oct. 13, the Spartans were looking to finish the exhibition schedule out strongly against the Bulldogs.
On Tuesday night, Michigan State defeated a fairly competitive Ferris State team by a final score of 85-67.
Early into the game, the Spartans took a quick 6-0 lead — thanks to guard Jaden Akins and forward Frankie Fidler — before the Bulldogs got on the board.
True freshman guard Jase Richardson came into the game with just under 15 minutes to play in the first half and quickly hit a 3-pointer early into his minutes to turn the Spartan lead to seven points, 11-4. Shortly after that, back-to-back dunks by forward Coen Carr around the 14-minute mark gave the Spartans a 15-7 lead.
Fidler showed his leadership and scoring ability all throughout the first half, as he finished with 12 points in the first 20 minutes, while showcasing his foul-drawing ability and 3-point shooting. He also drew an and-one opportunity on an acrobatic layup and made the free throw to complete the 3-point play. Fidler finished with a game-high 14 points.
Forward Xavier Booker made his mark as well, as he scored seven points in the first half, including a 3-pointer, and finished with 10 points total. Forward/center Jaxon Kohler was also impressive, making a big impact on both ends. He finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
The halftime score was 40-28 in the Spartans' favor, with MSU having lots of ups and downs throughout the half. Lots of scoring runs took place for both teams, but the ability of point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. to push the ball quickly helped the Spartans start to pull away.
The second half started great for Ferris State, as the Bulldogs went on a 12-5 run to bring the MSU lead down to just five points.
Just a few minutes later, however, Kohler made back-to-back buckets to increase the lead to 55-43 with 12:12 remaining.
After center Szymon Zapala made a layup but missed the and-one opportunity with 9:31 left in the second half, the Spartans brought the lead up to 17. From there, the Spartans maintained the lead for the rest of the game, and the Bulldogs could not keep up.
Michigan State eventually won the game by the aforementioned 18-point margin.
One of the bigger storylines of the game was the youth and depth of this Spartan squad. Of course, veterans such as Fidler and Akins have been the stars of the team, but many others showed out on Tuesday.
Outside of Fidler’s 14 points, the next seven top-scorers all have eligibility next season, and are not seniors. From the juniors in the bunch, Kohler finished with nine points, as mentioned. Tre Holloman had five points off the bench.
The true sophomore class saw Carr finish with 12 points, the second-highest mark on the team. Booker had the previously mentioned 10 points.
And perhaps most impressively, the trio Fears Jr. (redshirt freshman), Kur Teng (true freshman) and Richardson (true freshman) combined for 26 points, with Fears Jr. and Teng obtaining nine each, while Richardson had eight points. Holloman led the team with nine assists, while Fears had eight.
Akins, the senior guard, struggled with just three points on 1-for-5 shooting, including missing both of his 3-point attempts.
Overall, the Spartans need to be better to achieve expectations. Ferris State challenged MSU at times.
A team that wants to make a run at a Big Ten title and beyond needs to be able to take down Division II teams with ease, and the Spartans have yet to show their dominance against lower level teams in Northern Michigan and Ferris State.
Most players looked poised, and the depth has been visible so far. For improvement, though, their shooting from beyond the arc, and ability to make layups definitely are areas where certainly players need to take steps forward. But, the regular season has not started yet and struggles are expected at this point.
Next week, the Spartans host Monmouth in their opening game of the 2024-2025 regular season on Monday, Nov. 4. Last season, a loss on opening night to James Madison essentially set the tone for MSU's disappointing season. The Spartans will be focused on the Hawks.
