Michigan State basketball (3-2) is coming off it second-straight victory after an 81-49 win over Alcorn State at the Breslin Center this past Sunday.
On Thanksgiving Day, the No. 21-ranked Spartans take on the No. 3 Arizona Wildcats (5-0) at 4 p.m. Eastern Time on FOX as part of the Acrisure Classic, following the NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions.
On Monday, MSU head coach Tom Izzo met with the media to discuss the matchup with Arizona and what he is seeing from his team in the early stages of the season.
Touching on the previous game, Izzo said he thought the Spartans did some things well and can build off some of the positives of the performance, but ultimately named three people the team will need to step up for the Spartans if they wish to have success this weekend.
"I do think we did some good thing and made some shots," Izzo said about the win over Alcorn State. "But listen, three people have to do a better job. A.J. (Hoggard) has to play like they player he is, Jaden (Akins) has to play like the player and shooter he is, and Izzo better start coaching like the coach he is. So, I'll take blame, they have to take blame. Those three people have to do more if we're going to do more this weekend."
Further elaborating on Akins, Izzo said it was nice to see him knock down some shots in the team's latest win during his 13-point output against the Braves, but also explained he is looking for more than just shot-making when evaluating the junior guard.
"I really believe with Jaden — some guys, their offense dictates the rest of their game, and he's one of those guys," Izzo said about Akins. "It's not uncommon, there's a lot of people like that. But he too was one of our more solid players last year. He's been a good three-point shooter career wise, and he should be a great defender. He has made himself a very good rebounder. So it's just a matter of getting (his) confidence back and not letting missed shots dictate the rest of your game. I'm sure he's learning and he'll do a better job with that."
While MSU is coming off of two wins in a row and is looking to play better basketball, Izzo knows Arizona will provide several unique challenges the Spartans will have to deal with.
The Wildcats have five players who all average over 11 points per game, with guard Kylan Boswell averaging 13.8 per game on 65% shooting, while forward Keshad Johnson is putting up 13.4 points per game and grabbing 6.4 rebounds per contest.
"It's going to be a great test for us," Izzo said about playing Arizona. "I do think it's the best team we've played and it'll be fun to see how we respond. What's unique about Arizona is they've got a couple Midwest kids, they've got a couple European kids and a lot of older kids. I think they're pretty tough and physical. I know their guards are very much that way, so it'll be a good challenge for us. I think as we go, the biggest issue will be staying out of foul trouble inside."
Sophomore guard Tre Holloman racked up 17 points in 27 minutes of action in the win over Alcorn State as Izzo elaborated on how his game has grown within the past season.
"I told you (the media) all summer he was one of our more improved players," Izzo said about Holloman. "His shooting has really improved. I think his desire to spend time on the game has really improved since his freshman year. All of those things have been factors in his development."
Izzo also mentioned how Holloman's role could potentially expand if he continues to play well.
"There's times he could play the point, he could do different things," Izzo continued about Holloman. "If guys aren't shooting well, we have a guy who can come in and shoot. Who knows, maybe we'll change some things around. Not because of shooting, though, because of all of the other things that take place — falling asleep on backdoor (cuts) and things like that. Tre is solid in the playing group, and who knows, that could move."
Holloman drew his first career start against Alcorn State on Sunday with graduate senior guard Tyson Walker out due to an illness. Izzo did sound confident that Walker, and graduate senior forward Malik Hall — who only played three minutes in the second half versus the Braves due to a tweaked ankle — will be available against the Wildcats on Thursday.
Counting Tennessee in the exhibition game and the contest against Duke last week, this will already be the Spartans' third game against highly-ranked teams expected to make some noise this season and potentially make deep runs in the NCAA Tournament.
These types of games are allowing MSU to get a good look of what the Spartans have as a team early on in the season. And while Izzo is looking for his team to get better in all areas, make no mistake about it, he wants to win one.
"I think I'm looking to win one," Izzo said about Arizona. "I'm looking to win one, but I'm also looking to seeing us play better in all areas. I don't think you guys (the media) would believe me, but as I watch film all night long of some of those games, I think if we could have made two shots here and there, we would just be a lot better team. Well, everybody will say that, but never have we shot like we did in those couple of games. So, if we can put that together with playing good teams, we should feel better about that.
"I just don't like some of the things some of our veterans are doing right now as far as taking plays off. We need plays, and a winning play is usually not a jump shot or a great pass. Winning plays are being in the right position at the right time — cutting out, getting the rebounds and those type of things, and that's where I think we have some guys taking a few plays off."
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