NEW YORK — The last time I saw Michigan State in person, the Spartans were lost offensively, struggling to defend and lacking any kind of rhythm.
Good thing it was an exhibition.
The team that showed up to play UConn in Hartford in late October is long gone. The Spartans’ team that beat Kentucky 83-66 in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night is a legit contender in the Big Ten and beyond.
If the Spartans can shoot, defend, rebound and take care of the basketball like they did in handling the Wildcats, then Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo has pulled off another of his classic restoration projects in less than a year.
“That’s what our culture does,” said Michigan State big man Jaxon Kohler, who scored 20 points against Kentucky. “When we started (this season), it was a little rough. There were things we had to fix to become a good team. And we’ve made huge steps every single game since then. We’re taking leaps and growing.”
I’ll say.
The Spartans now have wins over Arkansas at home and Kentucky on a neutral court.
Michigan State made 11 3-pointers against Kentucky; there were three each from players who aren’t even household names in East Lansing, like 6-foot-4 senior Trey Fort and 6-foot-5 sophomore Kur Teng, the latter off the bench.
In the first three games — wins over Colgate, Arkansas and San Jose State — the Spartans made just 13 3s.
Oh, and 6-foot-2 sophomore Jeremy Fears Jr. is evolving into an elite playmaker. All he did was hand out 13 assists (the Spartans finished with 25), make three steals and commit just two turnovers.
Purdue, Michigan and Illinois, among others in the Big Ten, are on notice: Michigan State, which won the Big Ten by three games last season, is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Where did this offense come from in just two weeks?
“If I knew that answer, I would have done it a few days ago,” Izzo said. “We weren’t as bad a shooting team as we showed, but we did shoot better than I thought we’d shoot it (50 percent from the floor). We guarded well and we rebounded the daylight out of the ball.”
The Spartans outrebounded the Wildcats 42-28.
Kentucky, again playing shorthanded without guard Jaland Lowe and forward Jayden Quaintance (two players who were expected to make a major impact), made a mini-run and cut a lead that had ballooned to 24 to 10. But that’s when Michigan State showed its might.
“The theme at halftime was don’t let them back in,” Teng said.
And the Spartans didn’t.
Teng is a great example of the Michigan State way: Stay and get a chance to shine.
Teng didn’t play much as a freshman last season. He blossomed Tuesday night. And he could be a major factor off the bench. Fears and 6-foot-6 junior Coen Carr are in their third seasons and are major contributors now. The 6-foot-10 Kohler and 6-foot-11 Carson Cooper are seniors and form a strong tandem rotating in the post. Jesse McCulloch, a 6-foot-11 redshirt freshman, had eight valuable points off the bench and is another player who has found his way into the rotation by staying put.
Kur Teng had a phenomenal performance off the bench, including three sunk treys
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Meanwhile, Xavier Booker bolted to UCLA and Tre Holloman went to NC State. Both likely would have been starters on this team, but chose to be featured elsewhere.
“Coach stuck with me, so I got to stick with him,” Teng said. “I’m a loyal guy. Being a part of this program is a blessing. I wanted to stay.”
Izzo said Teng could have left after playing three or four minutes a game as a freshman “like everybody else does” in this era of wanting to be a star immediately.
Izzo said Teng was coached well in high school and “realized he’s got to battle through this stuff in an age when everybody just bolts. He didn’t blame anybody. He just worked harder and I’m proud of him.”
Fears has locked in with Izzo about being on the same page, and it has worked as he continues to feed shooters and the big men. He has the offensive game, but only took three shots against the Wildcats. He didn’t need to be a volume shooter on this night and may not that often, either.
Izzo said Fears’ improvement came over the summer, his first full offseason healthy while in East Lansing after a shooting in his leg left him in a recovery mode after his freshman season.
“That was the best Jeremy has played,” Izzo said. “That was the best he was in the huddles and running our team. That was a difference-maker to me.”
The Spartans are racking up Quad One wins and it’s not even Thanksgiving. Games against North Carolina and Duke are on the horizon, along with Big Ten matchups against Iowa and Penn State in early December.
“So far it’s great,” Izzo said of the schedule. “Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t end here. We’ve got some tough games left, and now we’ve got to see if we can battle through. We got a game Friday night (Detroit Mercy), and it’s not against the biggest team. Then we go back on the road.
“I just want to see if this team can build, if we can continue to be hungry. We had a great week of practice, and if you ask any player, I think we had the best three days of practice I’ve had in a couple of years. And it turned out to be part of why we had a good game.”
