Michigan State Spartans Basketball: MSU 78, UMES 35 Kneejerk Reactions

Well, it appears that the basketball team is taking well to being #1 in the country, eh?

The Four Factors

[Note: I am trying Non-TO%, since a reader pointed out that it's weird to want one of the four column sets to be lower for MSU. Plus it displays the same information. How do we feel about it?]

Denzel Valentine had a "ho-hum" 11 points - 10 boards - 6 assist night. He also kicked in two steals and a block, but was a little sloppy with the ball. Move along, nothing to see here.

Eron Harris continues to get more comfortable in the flow of the game on both sides of the ball. Harris was 4-for-6 on the game including 4-for-4 from behind the arc; he also chipped in three boards. Eron still needs to be more careful with the ball, considering he was tagged for 4 of MSU's 15 turnovers. Still, I was encouraged.

Deyonta Davis had four blocks, making this sixth multi-block game in ten games. He's top-10 nationally in block rate (and 12th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage, to boot). Davis was a little more quiet offensively than usual but that was just fine in this one.

Bryn Forbes had a game-high 14 points and also quietly chipped in 5 assists and 3 rebounds. When Bryn is highly involved in the offense, that's a good sign.

The Overall Assist Rate continues to be wild; 25 of 27 baskets for MSU were assisted.

Bottom Line

KenPom's line on this game was MSU by 28, and MSU ended up winning by 43. For a second straight game the Spartans held their opponent to around half a point per possession. They're 10-0 and #1 in the country. Things are humming right along, with a big test coming on Saturday in the form of the Florida Gators.