Michigan State is walking into one of the biggest early-season measuring sticks it can get, and Tom Izzo knows exactly what kind of challenge is waiting.
The Spartans are set for a top-five showdown with Duke, and this one comes with a very different backdrop than last year’s meeting, when MSU fell 66-60 at home in December. Izzo’s team is chasing a better outcome this time, but the Blue Devils arrive with a roster that looks built for a serious run.
Duke is not just talented. It’s unusually familiar, too.
Four players who logged at least 20 minutes a game last season are back, giving the Blue Devils a level of continuity that’s rare for a program that usually reloads with new names. Add in the No. 2 recruiting class and the No. 11 transfer portal class, according to 247Sports, and the result is a team Izzo views as loaded from top to bottom.
“They have more depth than normal and more veterans than they have had in a long time,” Izzo said. “I think that makes them, in my humble opinion, the best team in the country right now.”
One of the biggest additions is senior guard John Blackwell, a former Wisconsin standout who already has plenty of history against Michigan State. Blackwell has faced the Spartans five times in his career and scored 10 or more points in four of those games. His production is down this season - 9 points per game compared to a 14.2-point career average - but Izzo isn’t treating him like a mystery.
“We know what some of his tendencies are and hopefully we can address some of them,” Izzo said. “He is a really good all-around player. He can handle it, he can shoot it and he is a hell of a player.”
Blackwell is part of the reason Duke has been able to spread the load so effectively. The Blue Devils have played 10 players for more than 10 minutes per game this season, and their frontcourt is the clear headline act. Junior center Patrick Ngongba is averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 68.4% from the field, and 17-year-old freshman Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje has brought a rare blend of fluidity and perimeter skill for a 7-foot-2 center.
For Michigan State, that means a major test for a frontcourt still searching for steady answers on both ends. The Spartans have been working through a “center by committee” approach, and this matchup will demand more security and more consistency than most games on the schedule.
“We know how we played against some upper-level teams in UConn and Marquette, and I think we learned a lot from those games,” Izzo said. “There will be no challenge like this challenge, at least this early in the season, and I don’t think there has been one in a few years."
One area that could swing the game is turnovers. Duke has been forcing mistakes at a high rate, generating 24 turnovers in one win and 17 in another, which has them 18th nationally in turnover forced per game. Michigan State has averaged 13 turnovers a game this season while forcing 14 on defense.
The offensive numbers suggest both teams can score in bunches. Each is averaging more than 90 points per game and shooting better than 54% from the field, setting up a matchup where efficiency, ball security and frontcourt play could decide everything.
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Michigan States win over No. 2 Duke in the Champions Classic gave the Spartans an early-season jolt, and Tom Izzo made sure to frame it as more than just a headline result. With his team off to a 3-0 start, the veteran coach spent his postgame media session praising Dukes quality while also crediting his own group for the way it handled the moment, a reminder that this was the kind of November test he has long wanted for his program.
Izzo also touched on individual performances from across the roster, using the night as a snapshot of where Michigan State is and where it still needs to grow. He even nodded to the football teams recent win over Michigan, tying the moment into a bigger stretch of momentum around campus, while leaving the larger question hanging on how far this basketball team can carry that early confidence. [Read more 🡒]
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The matchup also offers a different kind of test, because Michigan State now has to handle the expectations that come with being ranked this high while still sorting out what kind of team it wants to be. Northern Iowa has already shown enough to suggest it can make things uncomfortable, so this is the sort of game that can reveal whether the Spartans are staying sharp or settling in after the Duke high. [Read more 🡒]
Carson Cooper Is Already Fighting For His NBA Role
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For a player trying to carve out a long-term role, the opportunity is as important as the jersey change. Cooper enters a crowded frontcourt as a backup center behind Walker Kessler and Kevon Looney, and he takes the spot vacated when Lawson Lovering was waived to make room for him. [Read more 🡒]