Roundball recap: MSU basketball’s exhibition win over Ferris State

Is there anything more beautiful than MSU basketball and football being in action at the same time? Simply put, no.

After a HUGE, SEASON-CHANGING AND ICONIC 80-72 win over Ferris State, MSU kicked off exhibition season with a victory. If you missed the game, fear not, Big Ten Network is showing the replay at 10 p.m. Friday night.

Kind of like how I do for football in The Good, The Bad, The Random, throughout hoops season I’ll have a recap piece with my unsolicited thoughts. As always, I would love for the discussion to continue in the comments.

Let’s get into it.

• This is a great team (sizzling hot take there, I know). However, one concern I have is no presence of a consistent knockdown shooter, like Bryn Forbes.

Now, obviously everyone can’t be as lethal as Forbes, but Josh Langford and Matt McQuaid will be relied on to deliver with their shooting. Here’s another hot take – 0/12 shooting from Langford and 2/10 shooting from McQuaid won’t cut it against Duke.

Will that combined nine percent shooting continue all season? Of course not, but it does show how crucial their shooting will be this season.

Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

• Speaking of shooting...is Cassius Winston a legitimate outside threat? If preseason buzz and Thursday’s performance (4/6 from 3-land) hold true, that answer is a hard yes. If Winston is the next solid-shooting point guard under Tom Izzo, this team can be even better than we originally thought.
• (Alright Matt, don’t overreact to a scrimmage against Ferris State. Don’t do it. Don’t even think of it) SCREW IT, Jaren Jackson might be the best freshman Tom Izzo has ever had.

Eight blocks is absurd no matter who you play, and combined with eight rebounds he shows how much of a luxury his length* is. With his athleticism and shooting touch, this Jackson kid isn’t a project. He’s already the real deal.

*If you ever want to get obliterated this season, drink whenever an announcer or anyone on Twitter mentions his length.

• Nothing will turn you into a full-blown nihilist faster than seeing a star player go down early in a season – or, in this case, before the season really started.

When Miles Bridges went down, the world went white. Final Four watch parties I haven’t even been invited to were cancelled. Big Ten title banners that aren’t in the rafters yet were being taken down. My son I don’t have named Miles changed his name.

And then Bridges ended up being relatively fine (minus four stitches in the head) and life is good and back to normal. Still, terrifying moment.