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Michigan State fails to get upset, drops Champions Classic to Kansas

Umito November 13, 2024

Atlanta — The Michigan State men’s basketball team had its chance. That’s what hurts the most.

Against No. 1 Kansas in Tuesday’s Champions Classic, MSU (2-1) had a chance to upset the nation’s top team, holding on late in the second half in a sloppy effort on both ends. But too many mistakes led to his disappearance during a 77-69 defeat against Kansas (3-0). Even though MSU was an unranked underdog in this game, the sting of “almost” creates disappointment later.

“I thought we had a good chance to win, but our key players didn’t play very well either,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “And part of that has to be their defense. I thought we both had open shots that couldn’t be missed. I was really disappointed to be passed, because that’s what we do here.

MSU didn’t play a great game, both in the areas it has struggled in all season and the areas in which it has shown promise. The problems were everywhere: 3-of-24 shooting from three, a 36-32 rebounding deficit, giving up 11 turnovers and four in the first five minutes. Those issues were apparent early on, as MSU trailed 8-2 in the first five minutes.

But Kansas didn’t play a great game either. He didn’t shoot well at 29.4% from deep and 40.6% overall. He struggled to string together saves, allowing MSU to get right back into the game.

MSU took a number of one-possession leads as the teams traded blows midway through the first half, until a seven-point run gave Kansas a firmer lead. Even then, a three-and-out from Jase Richardson cut the deficit and gave MSU some energy heading into halftime.

BOX SCORE: Kansas 77, Michigan State 69

Here Kansas was vulnerable. The best team in the country limping after a poor performance and giving MSU a chance to strike.

The problem is MSU didn’t capitalize.

Guard Jaden Akins finished 1 of 8 in the game, forward Xavier Booker 0 of 5 with four misses from deep. Guard Tre Holloman struggled in both halves. And in the paint, no one could find an answer for Kansas center Hunter Dickinson, whose 28-point double-double gave his team some life.

As a team, Kansas found a way to win. Just look at his three-point specialist, Zeke Mayo, who came up with 10 rebounds and seven assists on a night where he missed all three of his 3-point shots. Such a positive contribution on an off night earned Izzo praise, not only for Mayo but also for the way Kansas coach Bill Self was able to move a struggling player forward.

“I give Bill a lot of credit for that,” Izzo said. “I didn’t get that from a few of my guys. They didn’t shoot well, they didn’t rebound well, they didn’t guard it well. But overall, I think there will be some disappointing things while watching the movie. …But there are some positives that come out of it.

Kansas players contested shots, took care of the glass and made contact. The little things that happen so big in even matches ended up winning this match. Although MSU found a way to hang on, Kansas finally took the lead with eight minutes remaining with a pair of free throws from KJ Adams, and it maintained that lead the rest of the way.

“We didn’t do a lot of things well, but playing a team like that up close and not shooting the ball well at all and making a lot of shots,” Akins said. “…We just have to be able to do the little things to win games.”

There are two ways to look at loss. Against an opponent that could reduce its nets in March, MSU held on until the final minutes. But if he had played a little better in various areas, it would have caused quite an upset, as ugly as the process was. In reality, it’s a mix of both, but the disappointment of a missed opportunity always stings.

“In my opinion, it’s good to know that against the number one team, you stayed out there,” forward Jaxon Kohler said. “But on the other hand, you still lost the game you should have won. We had some open shots that we should have knocked away. If we had hit a few more, we would have won this game.

There were some positives in MSU’s performance. Kohler’s 12-point double-double off the bench was effective, tying the game several times in the second half as Kansas threatened to pull away. Even on a night when he shot 3 of 12, forward Frankie Fidler scored 15 points, going a perfect 8 of 8 from the charity stripe. Richardson’s continued progress, Carson Cooper’s contribution and Coen Carr more – there were a lot of things that went right in this game.

But those that have gone wrong, and continue to go wrong, make it a missed opportunity. And while this game taught MSU about itself, those lessons came with a tough loss.

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@ConnorEaregood