Under head coach Tom Izzo, the Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball always plays a difficult non-conference schedule. But the bulk of the games against high-level opponents in the months of November and December are usually played on neutral courts.
The last time the Spartans faced a ranked non-conference opponent in the friendly confine of the Breslin Center was December of 2019, when Michigan State lost to then No. 11 Duke. This season, the Spartan players knew that hosting No. 14 Arkansas on Saturday night was going to be both a special opportunity as well as a special challenge.
The Spartans' core of veteran starters and captains all understood both the importance of getting a key, resume-building win even in early November. It is never too early to think about NCAA Tournament positioning.
"Even though it's early, I feel like it's a game that we needed," said junior wing Coen Carr following the game. "We needed to win for our confidence as a team, and I feel like it will go a long way."
Fellow senior big man Carson Cooper expressed similar sentiments.
"It's rare for teams to want to schedule us here (especially) early," he said. "The fact that we can get Arkansas and Duke here is big time. We had to approach it like it like was championship game for us."
"Those are the games that you kind of dream about as a freshman," senior power forward Jaxon Kohler added.
On Monday, the Spartans won their home opener against Colgate University, 80-69. But the Spartans struggled to put the scrappy mid-major opponent away until later into the second half.
With a smirk, Cooper mentioned how a "nice" film session about the short comings in the first game helped to focus and motivate the Michigan State players to the task at hand against Arkansas.
"It was all eyes on this game," Cooper said. "(The sentiment was) we've got to prepare like this is going to be the staple of how we start our season."
As the Spartans watched film on Arkansas, they realized exactly how steep the challenge was going to be. Cooper described that, on paper, Arkansas might have more individual talent than the Spartans.
"They're really athletic and strong," said Cooper. "They're physical, (but) we're physical as well."
If they Spartans were going to earn the win, they knew that they were going to need to lean on some of the foundational elements of the Michigan State program: teamwork, energy, and toughness. As the game went on in, additional challenges would needed to be overcome as well.
Settling into new roles
During his sophomore year, Coen Carr primarily played the role of sixth man. His role was to provide a secondary spark of energy and athleticism a few minutes into the game. But as Carr enters his junior year, the Spartans need more from him, and he knows it.
"I've got this new role," Carr said, "I've got to bring it right from the start. I'm used to bringing it off the bench... So I just have to have that mindset now to just do it from the jump. I feel like I did that today, and that was definitely an emphasis coming into the game."
Carr scored the first points of the game off a transition dunk. In total, he scored eight of his total 15 points in the first six minutes of the game and was the major contributor to the early lead for the home team.
"That team we just played, Arkansas, if you don't bring it in the beginning you could be down 15 (points) before you know it," he said. "You have to do that (start quickly) if you don't want to be down early and lose the game."
As the game wore on, Carr made his presence felt in other ways. Instead of only going aggressively to the basket, he created plays for his teammates. Carr was credited with three assists, tying his career high.
"Having this bigger role, I have the ball in my hands more," he said. "When I drive, it's just a gravity and it pulls pull people towards me defensively. It's a great time to kick it out for guys and find the open man."
Carr was also a presence on the boards and at the free throw line. He grabbed a total of seven rebounds, which was tied for second-best on the team. After struggling from the line on Monday and in the two exhibition games, Carr hit 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Izzo praised Carr's leadership in the huddles and said that he played "best overall game since he's been here." Carr also took pride in the job that he did on the defensive end of the court.
"I feel like I played one of my best defensive games," he said. "I feel like we all followed the (game) plan well. I feel like we just executed."
Like his teammate, Carson Cooper also has transitioned from one of the first players off the bench to a starter for the Green and White. But Cooper picked up two quick fouls in the first four minutes of the game and had to watch most of the first half from the bench. He admitted that it was hard to be in this position as a senior and newly minted starter.
"It's just so tough to be in that situation and not be able to help the team out," he said.
But the extended time on the bench was not a complete negative. First, it forced freshman big man Cam Ward to play extended minutes in the first half, where he thrived. This early boost of confidence for the young Spartan is likely to pay dividend as the season progresses.
Second, the extended time on the bench may have helped Cooper to embrace his new role as a leader.
"The last couple years I might have found a way just to kind of be quiet and not do too much," he said. "When I knew I am not going back in (for a while) it forced me to watch more closely and understand where some guys could do better. So for me, in the timeouts, (I was) just trying to make my voice heard and (trying to) help our young guys."
For point guard Jeremey Fears, Jr. the adversity against Arkansas came in a different form. While Fears is not expected to lead the Spartans in scoring, he must be an offensive threat in the half court for the Spartans to be able to reach their full potential.
On Saturday evening, cold shooting plagued the Spartans from deep. Michigan State shot a dismal 1-for-14 from three. Fears himself was 0-for-2 from deep, but he also missed all five shots from inside the arc as well. His four total points on the evening came only from the free throw line.
Despite this lack of offensive production, Fears understands that there are other things the can and must do to help the Spartans win.
"Whatever I've got to do to help the team win is the most important (thing)," he said. "If it's not to take a shot and to guard the best player and don't let him score then I'm fine with whatever my job is that day. At the end of the day I know I've got to get my guy shots, and as long as I get them shots and put them in position to be successful, I think we've got a great chance to win."
While scoring was a challenge, Fears did create shots for his teammates. He finished the game with nine assists and just three turnovers.
Fears impacted the game on the defensive end as well. Arkansas point guard and Michigan native Darius Acuff, Jr., was able to score a team-high 16 points for the Razorbacks, but he needed 16 field goal attempts and seven free attempts to get there.
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