After winning their Big Ten opener, MSU heads to the West Palm Beach Classic at 10-0
Michigan State came back, and then held on, to beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 68-66 on Sunday at the Breslin Center. It was the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Spartans trailed 33-28 at halftime before the Hawkeye lead grew to 9 on a three pointer from Kylie Feuerbach with 8:49 remaining. MSU fought back with a 19-3 run to go up 67-60 with 2:41 to go. It got tight again from there, however, as Michigan State would go 0-3 from the floor and only 1-5 from the line the rest of the way.
MSU was able to do just enough on defense though. A steal by Grace VanSlooten and a Julia Ayrault block in the last 30 seconds were key plays to help seal the win.
Ayrault led the Spartans with 19 points and 4 boards while Nyla Hampton keyed the fourth quarter comeback with 13 points and 4 rebounds in the final quarter alone. VanSlooten also came up big with 14 points, 7 boards, and 3 steals.
The win was MSU’s first against a ranked opponent this year and moved the Spartans to 10-0; good for the best start in program history. They are one of four remaining unbeaten teams in the Big Ten along with Ohio State, Maryland, and UCLA. In addition to these Big Ten programs, Buffalo, Georgia Tech, Portland, LSU, and Tennessee are the only remaining D1 programs yet to lose this year.
MSU has two remaining out-of-conference games which will take place this Thursday and Friday at the West Palm Beach Classic in Florida.
The Spartans open play at noon Thursday against Montana. The Griz come to Palm Beach at 4-5, having dropped their last two games, falling last week 83-74 to North Dakota State and 78-70 to South Dakota State. The Griz have faced a couple of Big Ten opponents this year, defeating Washington at home 82-68 on November 17 while getting blown out at Minnesota 84-45 on November 24.
Montana is led by 5-9 Junior guard Mack Konig who plays nearly 31 minutes per game. Konig averages 12.1 points per game but so far has shot only 37% from the floor, including just 18% from beyond the arc. As a team, the Griz score 72 per game, shoot 45% from the floor and 33% from deep. They are good from the free throw line at 77% but only get there 11 times per game. The Griz are also somewhat turnover prone, giving it up nearly 15 times per game.
A decent game from the Spartans should get them by Montana on Thursday but, regardless of that outcome, MSU will face the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday at 4:30 PM. While MSU will hopefully be coming off a win over Montana, Alabama will be rested as they open their invitational against the Spartans.
Alabama comes to West Palm Beach with a 10-1 record. They recently suffered their first loss of the year, falling 69-65 at Cal on December 5, while MSU defeated the Golden Bears 78-72 on November 26 in the opening game of the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs, CA. In their only other game against a Power 4 opponent this year, Alabama downed Clemson 73-39 in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, FL.
Of the two teams MSU will face in Florida, Alabama seems to be the more prolific, scoring 85 per game while only giving up 55. The Crimson Tide shoot it at 47%, including 35% from three point range. Alabama is not a good free throw shooting team at only 65% but they do out rebound opponents by nearly 10 per outing. Alabama turns it over 13.5 times per game but they force their opponents into 19.5 giveaways, so taking care of the ball will be crucial for the Spartans. MSU averages 15.2 turnovers per game but takes it away from their opponents at a rate of 25.2 per game, good for 8th in the country.
Alabama has a pretty balanced attack with four players averaging in double figures. They feature an experienced backcourt with three graduate students in Sarah Ashlee Barker, Zaay Green, and Aaliyah Nye. Barker, at 6’-0”, scores 16.3 per game on 48% shooting while Green is 6’-2” and scores 16.2 while shooting 56%.
Nye, at 6’-0”, is an East Lansing High product, 2020 Michigan Miss Basketball runner-up, and Illinois transfer. She is Alabama’s top three point shooter at 42% and has made 36 threes this year, 20 more than Alabama’s next best shooter from beyond the arc.
The West Palm Beach Classic takes place at Rubin Arena on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University. Both Spartans’ games will be streamed on BallerTV . Or, Spartan fans in the Palm Beach area may want to consider supporting this team in person. Tickets can be purchased here .
After the West Palm Beach Classic and holiday break, MSU will resume Big Ten play at Maryland on December 29.
Finally, TOC, even though our Spartans fell just short of the CFP this year, please enter our first annual playoff bracket challenge ! It’ll be fun.