1. One glaring issue shows itself for MSU late in loss to Memphis
LAHAINA, Hawaii – When Michigan State absolutely needed a bucket Tuesday — trailing Memphis by seven with about 2 minutes left — they wound up with little movement and Tre Holloman driving the lane and trying a fade-away floater in the lane that barely drew iron.
Coen Carr corralled the offensive rebound — highlighting what’s been a promising strength for this MSU team. But that shot — at that moment — speaks to MSU’s limitations right now. And that possession didn’t help as the Spartans fell 71-63 in the Maui Invitational semifinals.
They’ll face the loser of North Carolina and Auburn later Tuesday night in Wednesday’s third-place game. Another good opportunity.
MSU (5-2) has some good offensive players — and one great freshman, Jace Richardson, who had 18 points Tuesday — but in need-a-bucket moments in half-court situations, it’s hard to have confidence in where they’re going to find that bucket.
That’s got to be a focus in the weeks ahead. The lineups in those situations are becoming more clear (see below) and I think headed in the right direction, with more guards on the court. But this is where having a seasoned go-to player matters offensively. While Richardson is showing signs of being that guy, he’s at his best moving to the ball or catching it in motion. MSU needs its point guards to create in these settings. Holloman didn’t there. And MSU didn’t have anything moving around him.
It’s just one play. MSU lost this game with several bad stretches, when Memphis got out and ran and because Memphis made timely shots. But it was an important play, because it’s an issue that MSU needs to solve if it wants to do anything significant this season.
A lot of the parts are there — the rebounding has returned after a several-year absence (MSU was plus-8 on the glass Tuesday) and the defense has been pretty consistent. Just not enough firepower on offense sometimes and not a clear path to a bucket when it’s needed. Those two things go hand in hand.
2. 3-pointers finally (sort of) fall for MSU, aided by Maui’s soft rims and the law of averages
Jase Richardson’s 3-pointer bounced gently and then sat on the rim before falling in, making it 14-11 MSU. “What a soft touch,” I thought. Seconds later, Memphis’ Tyrese Hunter got the same bounce and roll. Two good shooters, no doubt, but these rims at the Lahaina Civic Center have a little extra give.
Still, that didn’t seem to help when MSU began 0-for-14 from deep on Monday. So Tuesday, when they shot a more normal (but not great) 7-for-20, maybe it was water finally finding its level a little. We’ll see.
MSU has three seasoned players who entered this season as career 3-point shooters north of 35% — and at a pretty high volume. Entering Tuesday, those three guys — Jaden Akins (5-for-27 from 3), Tre Holloman (4-for-23) and Frankie Fidler (4-for-24) — were shooting less than 18% together on 74 attempts. That’s not going to stick.
However, what’s worth watching is that all three guys — Akins and Fidler especially — are in new situations. Akins is being asked to create more off the dribble. Fidler is playing at a different level of basketball entirely. All three have mostly been catch-and-shoot players throughout their careers. MSU offensively has to help them get their 3-point looks where they’re most comfortable.
Between those three and Jase Richardson — and to some degree Jaxon Kohler and Xavier Booker — I don’t think poor outside shooting will be the story of MSU’s season. Richardson is 7-for-13 on 3s after Tuesday’s 3-for-5 performance from deep.
The Spartans ought to have enough shooting.
3. Keep an eye on MSU’s smaller-ball lineups
For a good spell Tuesday, MSU turned to what I think its its highest-ceiling lineup — Jaxon Kohler at center, Coen Carr at power forward, surrounded by Jaden Akins, Jace Richardson and either Jeremy Fears or Tre Holloman. The most important part of that is Carr at power forward (and probably) that Richardson is on the floor.
That group helped MSU resettle itself after a 14-11 lead had become a 19-14 deficit, and stayed on the court mostly intact for nearly four minutes — with Holloman replacing Fears midway through. And beyond that, Carr stayed at power forward.
Down the stretch, Carr again was at the 4, as MSU went with this lineup or, for a little while Frankie Fidler on the wing, with Richardson and Akins doing the primary ball-handling. The Spartans went really small at the end, with Carr at the 5. I don’t hate that being mixed in earlier here and there. MSU’s strength is in its guards and having Carr on the interior allows MSU to maximize that strength and to spread the floor.
MSU has great depth. But the Spartans’ ability to eventually beat upper-tier competition, I think, comes down to these Carr-at-power-forward lineups. For his sake — though he’s got to give more than five points and two rebounds in 21 minutes — and so they can play more of their guards at once.
Contact Graham Couch at gcocuh@lsj.com. Follow him on X at @Graham_Couch or Blue Sky at @GrahamCouch.
