MSU basketball beats North Carolina in OT in Maui: 3 quick takes

On By Littum

1. It was a massive win for MSU on several fronts

LAHAINA, Hawaii – There was a look to the Michigan State men’s basketball team Wednesday that I hadn’t seen in any other game out of the gate this year. A determination for them. They didn’t leave Maui without hitting North Carolina. Or at least not without putting up the best wire-to-wire fight they could.

It’s like they fully understood that if you want to be taken seriously, you have to win some of these games.

Despite a shaky few minutes of regulation (and parts of overtime), this 94-91 overtime victory in their Maui Invitational final was a you-better-take-me-seriously performance by MSU, which played without arguably its best player to this point in freshman Jase Richardson, who missed the game after taking an elbow to the head Tuesday in the Spartans’ loss to Memphis. And without Richardson, MSU played its best game of the season, almost from end to end.

The reason: Almost everyone else raised their game — starting with junior guard Tre Holloman, who replaced Frankie Fidler in the starting lineup and couldn’t miss in the first half and made big free throws late, and Xavier Booker, who rewrote the script for his season (and maybe career) on Tuesday , and Coen Carr, who rebounded and attacked with game-changing ferocity, and Jaden Akins, who was really good for a while, and Jeremy Fears Jr., who shepherded the Spartans along and made a boatload of free throws (and a massive defensive gaffe late), and Fidler, coming off the bench for the first time, made steady and important plays throughout.

This was an incredible game to watch. And those are the kinds of games the Spartans have lost a lot in recent years. They nearly lost this one, blowing a 79-71 lead by not making a field goal in the final four minutes of regulation.

They need to work on finding offense down the stretch – having Richardson will help. But also give MSU credit. When North Carolina sent this thing to overtime, with the Spartans visibly losing their composure in the final minute, I thought there was no way they were going to pull it out. They were tough in overtime — all the way to the last long pass up three, when Carr jumped through two North Carolina players to haul it in and nearly end the game.

MSU shot 54% and scored 50 points in the paint — including 14 from Carr and 12 from Booker — and took advantage of a North Carolina team with some defensive deficiencies. But this is still North Carolina, and the Tar Heels still have some serious backcourt firepower and shot making.

MSU did the same on Wednesday, with Holloman scoring 19 points and hitting three 3s — all coming in the first half — and Akins scoring 14, playing well until the final minutes, and Fidler and Fears both 13.

This was a massive win on multiple fronts — what it means for Booker’s season, for Holloman, who had struggled, for Fidler, for their collective confidence and for their non-conference resume.

The way they started and played for so long – and that they stuck – should help them.

2. Xavier Booker, holy smoker

Depending on where Xavier Booker’s season and career go from here, this could be remembered as a turning point. Booker was excellent in the second half (more to come in a full column).

He was the catalyst for MSU during a critical stretch when the Spartans faltered a bit for the first time. Booker scored six points in less than a minute midway through the second half as the Spartans rebuilt a small cushion. It wasn’t just that he scored. That’s how he scored – with aggression in the paint, which has not come naturally to him. It was also how he affected the game on the glass and how he altered shots defensively.

He finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and a block, and his best moments came in the second half. He wanted the ball in the post. His teammates wanted him to have the ball in the post. And they were excited about him.

One of the best signs and scenes came when he checked out of the game after the impactful stretch — his teammates were so excited for him. He came back and was in MSU’s final lineup in regulation and overtime. That says a lot about how well he played.

A good game for Frankie Fidler in a big place

Starting Tre Holloman proved to be the absolute right move Tuesday. MSU needed more in the opening minutes of games than Frankie Fidler had gotten them. I don’t know that moving Fidler back into a starting role makes sense given Wednesday’s start without him and Jase Richardson’s presence on this team coming off the bench. If there’s another move to be made, you’d think it would be Richardson stepping into the lineup.

But Fidler certainly didn’t play unhurt or sullen. Fidler hit 5 of 6 shots, scored 13 points and was a steady and consistent hand offensively in a game MSU absolutely needed him to be.

In overtime, he was there to steal a long pass and grab a big rebound. He looked like a player MSU can count on — and count on off the bench.

Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow X on @Graham_Couch and Blue Sky on GrahamCouch.