Michigan State basketball opened its season with an 85-43 win against Hillsdale College in an exhibition game.

The Spartans starting lineup consisted of guards Tyson Walker, Jaden Akins, and A.J. Hoggard, forward Malik Hall, and center Mady Sissoko.

Walker drew first blood for Michigan State by drawing a foul on a floater and converting both free throws. He also hit the first field goal of the game as he nailed a 3-pointer on MSU’s second offensive possession of the game.

Akins also contributed from downtown and Sissoko hit two free throws after being hacked on an offensive rebound putback attempt.

Michigan State made its first changes in the game at the 16:13 mark of the first half to a loud ovation. Three of the four freshmen entered the game (Jeremy Fears Jr, Coen Carr, and Xavier Booker) alongside Tre Holloman and Carson Cooper.

Booker and Holloman nailed back-to-back 3-point shots to extend Michigan State’s lead to 18-3, which forced Hillsdale to call a timeout.

Cooper got his first points of the season on a putback after a Booker missed jumper from the baseline. He added to his tally by hitting one foul shot and scoring a layup after an MSU steal.

MSU's fourth freshman, Gehrig Normand, got some minutes in the first half as well. He added two points to MSU’s tally on a reverse layup.

Michigan State had a 27-10 lead at the 10-minute mark and all five starters re-entered the game for the Spartans. Walker added another two points as he got a friendly bounce off the back iron on a turnaround jumper from the free throw line. Hoggard got his first points of the game by going coast-to-coast for a layup after grabbing a defensive rebound.

Sissoko made his first field goal of the game on a turnaround hook shot from the baseline with his right hand. The starting five was subbed out as Fears, Holloman, Carr, Booker, and Cooper re-entered the game.

Carr got the fans on their feet after he got a steal on the defensive side and slammed it home with his left hand on a breakaway. That possession occurred after he had just made a tough bucket off the glass.

Holloman followed that up by making a layup through contact, but he didn’t hit the foul shot. Holloman made up for it by finding Cooper on an alley-oop to give Michigan State a 43-18 lead.

Michigan State had a 47-20 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Cooper led the way at the break for the Spartans with nine points and 4-for-4 shooting from the field. He also led the team in rebounds with five. Fears had six assists in the first half.

Free throws were a concern in the first 20 minutes as the Spartans were 5-for-10 from the line.

Michigan State’s starting five of Walker, Hoggard, Akins, Hall and Sissoko returned to the floor to begin the second half. Sissoko got the scoring underway by hitting two foul shots. Walker followed that up by hitting a corner 3-pointer. Akins also nailed a 3-pointer to extend Michigan State’s lead to 55-23 at the under-16 media timeout.

Booker got the scoring started after the media timeout as he hit a shot from beyond the 3-point arc in the corner. Cooper continued his good play as he had four points and a steal in his first few minutes in the second half. The Spartans had a 64-25 lead at the under-12 media timeout.

Carr showed off his hops once again - but this time on the defensive side - as he elevated to reject a CJ Yarian layup attempt.

Sissoko continued to shoot well from the charity stripe as he nailed another two free throws. On the other hand, Hoggard continued to struggle as he only made 1-of-3 from the foul line after getting hacked on a 3-point attempt.

The Breslin Center crowd got loud after a Sissoko block sent the ball down to the other half of the court where Walker picked it up and found Carr for a layup.

Michigan State had an 83-38 lead with two minutes remaining before Tom Izzo started to empty the bench to a raucous ovation as Davis Smith, Steven Izzo, and Nick Sanders checked into the game. Izzo hit two free throws to get the Breslin Center crowd fired up.

The Spartans took home the victory by a final score of 85-43. Cooper and Walker led Michigan State in points with 13 each. Cooper and Walker also led the team in rebounds with seven. Fears and Hoggard were tied for the team lead in assists with eight.

Michigan State shot 55% from the field and held Hillsdale to 25% from the field. Free throws and offensive rebounds allowed might be two areas that Tom Izzo will have circled as the Spartans only shot 55% from the foul line and allowed 17 offensive rebounds by the Chargers.

The next time Michigan State will hit the court will be against Tennessee in a charity exhibition game to benefit the Maui Relief Fund. That game will be on Sunday and will tip off at 3:30 p.m.

Michigan State will open its regular season against James Madison on Monday, Nov. 6 at 8:30 p.m. from the Breslin Center.

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