Michigan State wanted a preseason measuring stick, and Tuesday night delivered one. The sixth-ranked Spartans ran into No. 4 UConn at the Breslin Center and came up short, 78-70, as the shots didn’t fall often enough to keep pace with one of the nation’s top teams.
Exhibitions are about more than the final score, of course, and there were a few clear signs worth pulling from the night. The most unforgettable came from Jeremy Fears Jr., who produced a one-handed dunk that caught the building off guard. What looked like a routine drive suddenly turned into a right-handed slam through traffic, and the near-capacity crowd reacted the way it usually would to one of Coen Carr’s signature finishes.
The play stood out because it matched what had been said about Fears this offseason: he’s more explosive. That was the first real proof of it.
Through his first three seasons at Michigan State, Fears has rarely dunked at all, and when he has, it’s usually been a two-handed finish with little resistance. This time was different.
Fears also ended up leading MSU with 23 points and eight assists, doing most of his damage in the second half as he tried to drag the Spartans back into it. The dunk hinted at another layer to his game, one that could make him even tougher for defenders to handle around the basket.
There’s also a real competition developing in the frontcourt. Jesse McCulloch has looked like Michigan State’s best big man in both exhibition games, even ahead of Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke. Ethan Taylor has looked better than Bonke so far as well, and Bonke did not play in the second half.
McCulloch has come across as the most polished and steady option. He’s in Year 3 in Tom Izzo’s system, and that experience shows, but he also just looks like the more skilled player right now. Izzo may also want to use McCulloch more at the four, which only makes the rotation picture messier.
Bonke still offers the biggest upside because of his 7'2" length and floor-stretching ability, but his floor appears lower than McCulloch’s at the moment. Taylor, meanwhile, may be Michigan State’s best defensive big. His athleticism and 7'1" frame have been useful so far.
Bonke still feels like the likeliest starter for opening night against Quinnipiac on Nov. 2, mostly because of his experience and the role he was brought in to fill. But the spot is not locked down the way some might have assumed.
Jasiah Jervis also gave Michigan State something encouraging. The freshman guard scored 11 points, knocked down two 3-pointers and got to the line a few times against a UConn defense that made life difficult for the Spartans early on.
Jervis was brought in to help as one of the secondary creators next to Fears, and he looked comfortable in that role against the No. 4 team in the country. For a freshman in that setting, he looked poised rather than sped up.
He won’t be starting right away, but he looks like a player who can provide scoring off the bench. The result didn’t come with an exhibition win, but the performance still offered a few encouraging signs for Michigan State moving forward.
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Michigan States Early UConn Test Comes With One Big Unknown
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Braylon Mullins is the biggest unknown on the UConn side. The guard sat out the Huskies' previous exhibition because of an undisclosed injury, and his status for this one has not been confirmed, leaving one more question hanging over a game that should offer both teams a valuable evaluation point before the regular season begins. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Changing Its Routine For A Huge UCLA Test
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UCLA brings plenty of challenge into the meeting as well, entering unbeaten and ranked No. 9 under first-year coach Bob Chesney. For Michigan State, the backdrop matters, but so does the assignment in front of it, and the Spartans are treating the venue and the opponent as part of the same test. [Read more 🡒]
Jesse McCulloch May Be Forcing His Way Into MSU's Rotation
A preseason exhibition can be easy to overlook, but Jesse McCulloch made it harder to do that with his performance at power forward when Michigan State needed someone to fill in for injured Cam Ward. McCulloch showed the kind of offensive touch the Spartans have been hearing about throughout the offseason, finishing with 20 points while also contributing on the glass and giving the staff a look at a different kind of frontcourt option.
What stood out most was how natural the fit looked with his shooting and the possibility of using him as a pick-and-pop threat. McCulloch has spent the offseason working to round out his game, and he has pointed to former Spartan Carson Coopers development as a model for what that process can look like. Whether this becomes a one-night glimpse or something more meaningful for Michigan States rotation will depend on how the next few weeks unfold, but the door looks open. [Read more 🡒]