Marquette-MSU exhibition

[WhiteTrash]

I second this—it was a bad call. 

Be assured, the selection committee will take it into consideration.

[Tha Hound]

I watched the full game live because I'm sick in the head. Biggest takeaway for me was the amount of contributions we got from non-starters. Royce and Nigel did not have their A game and yet this was a very comfortable win.

Clark - Looks to have taken a major jump from unplayable to serviceable D1 backup. Massive development if this wasn't a fluke.

Owens - I thought he was our best player in the first 5 or so minutes. Still didn't seem to get a ton of time and I'm not sure why. Maybe Shaka just trying different rotations.

Other notes:

Fru seems to impact the game in all the right ways. Thought he played solid D and his movement and presence at the top of the arc on offense was impressive. Don't see him being a major scoring threat every game, but a massive upgrade all around at the C position.

Minessale wasn't great, wasn't terrible. Looks like he can handle the rock and play D. FTs near end of the game were smooth. Doesn't look overmatched.

Stevens is a player, man. He gets overshadowed by Nigel but I can absolutely see him earning all conference honors over the course of his career.

Egbuonu had some great moments. He has a chance to contribute this year.

Porter looks like a serviceable backup PG but his defense is going to be a big problem.



Overall I was probably more positive about this years team than most, and this game only made me more excited for the season to start.

[MU82]

Fru is a big improvement over Gold, and I wasn't a Gold "hater." And I'm quite encouraged by Clark - he looked like a basketball player and, unlike last season, he didn't get gassed after 3 trips down the court. If what we got from Fru/Clark (and a little bit of Parham) today is indicative of what we'll get from the 5 this season, that's a huge upgrade from 2025-26.

Minessale looks like a solid addition. Made some mistakes but also did some nice things and didn't seem overmatched going against a B18 team.

Stevens was the best player on the floor IMHO. Excited about him taking the next step.

Owens and Phillips looked good, and the freshmen look like they'll be able to contribute. Gives us much improved depth.

Incredible shooting by Egbuonu. But I remember Owens hitting something like his first eight 3s as a freshman ... so I ain't assuming Alex is the next Steph!

They promoted the Fears-James matchup and I don't blame them, but neither played very well. Nigel was waaaay too loose with the ball. Hope that gets cleaned up.

He wasn't the only turnover machine but we shot really well today, so that covered up a lot of warts.

All in all, I'm every bit as optimistic as I was before the game. We're an NCAAT team.

Early overreaction: Michigan State is nowhere near as imposing as in past seasons, especially their bigs. Sparty didn't look close to being a top-10 team today. Not surprised UConn throttled 'em.

EDIT to add the most important thing: Nobody got hurt!

[Scoop Snoop]

MSU scored.  Not good enough.

Hoo boy! The scoop eeyores are going to have some competition with the new and unimproved version of Tower. Even muwarriors69 is OK with the opponent scoring, as long as we win the game. Oh wait! I may be mistaken about that.

[tower912]

Sarcasm

[MuMark]

https://x.com/missyzahn1/status/2114448956696801288?s=61

[tower912]

Tre and Al Amadou?   Nice.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Entirely different trajectory coming into this season than last and plenty of reasons for optimism.  Feels nice. 

[muwarrior69]

Michigan State vs. Marquette (Exhibition)

[Markusquette]

Michigan State vs. Marquette (Exhibition)

thanks!

[JakeBarnes]

Shooting like that is good.

Turnovers were bad.

Cut down the latter while maintaining the former and we're in for a very fun ride.

[Shooter McGavin]

Nice too see the team had the size and athleticism to match up well with a traditionally strong and athletic Big Ten team.  Very positive sign, especially with rebounding.  Very nice to see the freshmen with size and athleticism and skill contribute as well. 

Have been very positive all offseason about this team's floor and ceiling but I think the ceiling may be higher than I thought if today is any indication. 

Good showing.  Very encouraging.

[tower912]

Izzo was very complimentary.

[Uncle Rico]

Izzo was very complimentary.

Rat poison

[brewcity77]

Takeaways:

• Starters were competent and able to keep up with Michigan State. I expected the first five to be solid, they delivered in that regard. Never felt outmatched and usually felt like the better unit.
• Owens deservedly starting over Minessale, based on that limited viewing. Owens still hasn't ironed everything out, but he's more ready for this level. Nolan looked like a Summit player, needs to adjust to the speed and athleticism he's going to see.
• My biggest worry was the bench, and they looked very good. Porter, MP2, Minessale, Johnston, Egbuonu, Clark all had their moments. If we can narrow that six down to 3 reliable guys, we'll be in good shape.
• Clark specifically deserves a mention. He looked a lot more polished. If he can give us 10-12 decent minutes, we are in a much better place.
• Shooting overall looked good. Not sure we'll get that regularly from Egbuonu, but nice to know we have multiple long range options, if only in this small sample size.
• It's only an exhibition, but what I hoped to see was a competitive first half. We got that and then some. Also got a win when a loss would've been a perfectly fine outcome. Hard to not come away positive.
• That said, we do need to clean up the turnovers and fouling. But having teachable moments from a win is probably a positive for the coaching staff.

[TallTitan34]

https://x.com/missyzahn1/status/2114448956696801288?s=61

I enjoyed Kam getting into it.  Voiced his displeasure with the officials at some calls and tried to get a t-shirt during the t-shirt toss timeout.

[WarriorFan]

My comments and predictions:
- Minessale doesn't make the leap
- Agree with most of Brew's points except getting the rotation down to 3... this could be a pretty deep team with guys like Egbuonu, MP2 and Porter who can come in, not make mistakes, and actually contribute for 3-5 minutes, 2x per game.  The team could be 8 or 9 deep. 
- Clark must play.  10-12 minutes, occasionally more.  Build some confidence because he seems to be doing much better.
- 18 doesn't really have a place on this team until we need 5 more fouls.
- Not sure Owens is my starter but for now it's the right decision.  If I were Shaka I'd be telling MP2 and Egbuonu the spot is theirs to take.
- Jerel's not my favorite commentator.  Sorry.

[Shooter McGavin]

Agreed Brew.  You and 82 have longer summaries  of what I was thinking during the game.  Never outmatched or outclassed in any way with a win as the cherry on top. Should be a fun year. 

Tower,  glad to hear Izzo was complimentary. Would be curious to hear your thoughts on MSU since I believe that is your second favorite team and you probably have a good feel for them. Overrated slightly or legitimately high expectations? What was their fan bases feel for the team going into the year? 

[TallTitan34]

I wonder if the exhibition gets MU a couple more votes in the AP poll.  Currently at 3 haha.

I don't believe there is a new poll today, however.

[Jay Bee]

MSU defenses are well known for NOT turning their opponent over. :/

[SchnitzelBoy]

1. Adrien Stevens looks like he could be the second best player on the team. There's a calm when he has the ball in big moments, and his 3-pointer (from downtown) to end MSU's run was big.
2. Minessale looked overmatched athletically early in the game but I thought he was much better in the second half. I'm pretty sure he won't be a starter for MU this season unless he makes a big jump. Utility dude off the bench isn't the worst thing in the world for your first year of high-major hoops.
3. Josh Clark needs more confidence finishing through contact. I think he'll get there soon, though. A few of these buy games might help things click. He can really move for a big man, I loved his activity flying around the court.
4. Parham needed to finish stronger at the rim but we saw it last year and he's capable. IN the second half, the ball movement just died as soon as he got it on the perimeter, but the offense was so out of sorts it might not have been all his fault. Good poise down the stretch, though.
5. Turnovers might be an issue this season? We'll see see how much solidifying roles and rotation will help that.
6. Damarius and MPIII are not getting as much playing time, and we don't know why just yet.
7. The freshman looked really good and arguably made the difference between a comfortable win and a competitive one. Ethan is athletic as hell and looks ready. Egbuonu's shooting stroke is noice but he needs to improve footspeed.
8. MU looked bigger than MSU. I don't have the full stats yet, but all of our 6'7" dudes make us look way more imposing than previous squads

[SchnitzelBoy]

I've got to say that, despite it being just an exhibition game, it felt competitive. It wasn't like MSU went deep into their bench or had its foot off the gas the entire time. In fact, MU rotated the lineup much more. I know it was a home game but MU looked like the better team for most of the game. They did look bad during that stretch in the second half, but their counterpunch set things right.

I doubt MSU finishes the season at the 6th best team in the country... But I think this confirms Marquette will be MUCH improved this season and suggests being top-25 is on the table

[brewcity77]

I've got to say that, despite it being just an exhibition game, it felt competitive. It wasn't like MSU went deep into their bench or had its foot off the gas the entire time.

Agreed, I found it interesting that they were still going with starters into the final seconds and playing the foul game down the stretch. Both teams seemed to treat it like an actual game. That was part of the reason for my optimism. While sloppy, it could've just been a regular early season game.

[JTJ3]

Wont go into individual players, think its all been covered by others in this thread already.

Ill just say I did not expect us to be bigger and so much more phsycial than an Izzo team.  And all 11 players who played for us look like they can play at this level.  Lots of things to be encouraged about.  This is a top 25 team.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

My thoughts:

Nigel was sloppy but we know he can do a lot better.  The fact that it was still a comfortable win despite an off game from our star PG is encouraging.

Adrien is the most improved player on the team.  His behind the back dribble in transition that lead to a dunk and his logo 3 to beat the shot clock and end MSU's 11-0 run were the highlights of the game.

Damarious was fine. Made a couple of nice passes, defended, and got a couple easy buckets.  Doesn't look like he made a huge leap but he's decently reliable.

Royce didn't have his best game but I'm not too worried.  Just needs to cut out some of the silly fouls.  Looks like our 3rd C.

Fru won't put up gaudy stats but he just makes winning plays.  Defends well, can catch and finish inside, can make some nice passes, and the occasional 3 to boot.  Exactly what MU needed at C.

Porter will be valuable as a backup ball handler but his defense is a liability.  Fine in small doses when Nigel needs a breather.  And Porter can play 20 mpg vs cupcakes, so Nigel doesn't have to play 35 mpg every night.

Minessale isn't ready for a major role but he clearly belongs.  Defends well, handles the ball, and doesn't do anything to hurt MU.  A nice glue guy off the bench.

MP2 is nice catch and shoot option off the bench.  His defense is improved as well.  Not seeing a star leap but he will be a solid backup with the occasional hot shooting night.

Clark looked like a serviceable backup C.  That's all MU needs from him.

Ethan Johnston is like a bigger, more athletic version of Minessale.  The big difference is Nolan has much more experience.  Not sure if Ethan grows enough in season to leapfrog into the main 8-9 man rotation, but he's at least playable.

Alex Egbuonu is a bit like Phillips but with an extra 40 pounds of muscle.  Looks like a solid catch and shoot player that can catch fire from time to time.  His defense is still bad but it's much improved from HS, which was completely unplayable at the college level.  Another in-season growth story to track.

Overall, I see a much improved team.  Nigel, Adrien, Royce, and Fru are the core 4 but I see 7 more players capable of playing a role.  Their individual minutes will vary from night to night, but I think Shaka will give each of them a chance.  Whichever role players play the best in the first half will get more minutes in the 2nd half when the rotation shrinks.