Michigan State opened its 2024-2025 preseason play up north and cruised to a 70-53 exhibition win over Northern Michigan during Tom Izzo’s homecoming on Sunday.
The Spartans traveled to the Upper Peninsula to play the Wildcats in the Superior Dome.
The weekend was also a celebration for Izzo, as Northern Michigan retired his No. 10 jersey.
One of the themes of the day was how MSU looked on the perimeter and how much some of the new players stood out. The Spartans shot 43.1% from 3-point distance and saw 37 of its 70 points from freshmen (including redshirt Jeremy Fears Jr.) or transfers.
Five different Spartans hit a 3-pointer, including Jaxon Kohler, who is yet to make such a shot in a real game with the Green and White. The junior led the team in scoring in the first half seven points and finished the game with nine points and eight rebounds. He also looked more comfortable at the free-throw line, going 4-for-4. He only made two free throws on seven attempts in all of last season.
Beyond Kohler, MSU’s bigs collectively had a large role in the result, especially on defense. Carson Cooper ended his day with one point, four rebounds and three blocks. Xavier Booker scored 10 points and blocked three shots as well. Longwood transfer Szymon Zapala grabbed nine rebounds and scored six points.
Freshman Jase Richardson also lived up to his billing in his collegiate debut. It looks likely he will be part of MSU's rotation this season, as the son of Jason led the Spartans in scoring on Sunday with 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting, to go along with four assists and a steal.
Kur Teng was the other freshman to get serious minutes, as he hit two 3-pointers, to go along with three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Freshman big man Jesse McCulloch also played five minutes, recording one rebound, one assist and one block.
Frankie Fidler, the Nebraska Omaha transfer forward and another newcomer, had a bit of a quiet day in his MSU debut. He scored four points, but committed four fouls and turned the ball over twice.
Jaden Akins, MSU's leading returning scorer from last season (10.4 points per game), also had a tough game. The senior guard went 2-for-12 from the field, missing his first six shots, to finish with just four points, an assist, two fouls and two turnovers.
Defensively, Michigan State looked much more like a national power playing a Division II team at first. NMU only scored eight points in the first 11 minutes of action, as MSU forced the Wildcats into a lot of difficult shots.
It was also a diverse scoring attack for the Spartans early on, as MSU led 31-19 at the break.
Both sides seemed much more connected in the second frame, as each team surpassed its first half point total and had a higher field goal percentage.
The game's result was never in doubt, but some flaws were visible. Izzo complemented NMU's ability to cut during the broadcast, but the Wildcats were able to get a handful of good looks from the perimeter. In addition, Northern Michigan recorded eight offensive rebounds (although MSU had nine).
Turnovers were also an issue. The Spartans ended up giving the ball away 13 times to just 12 assists.
All in all, there is no way to see how a team will do in March based on an exhibition game in mid-October, but Izzo did say, "We've got a long way to go," on the broadcast immediately postgame, and that's expected at this point.
The Spartans will have plenty of time to improve before returning to a competitive environment.
MSU's second exhibition game will be against another Division II team, Ferris State, this one being at home on Oct. 29.
After that, Michigan State officially will open its 2024-2025 season against Monmouth in the Breslin Center on Nov. 4.
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