Michigan State Basketball takes care of business, wins over North Florida
From start to finish, Michigan State used their superior size down low to wear down North Florida. This will not be the last team this happens to this season.
One thing you have to appreciate about a team is when they stick to their identity. Especially in college, teams like to get fancy and get away from their bread and butter, which almost always bites them in the end.
It could’ve happened to the Spartans, knowing after just a few minutes that the game was in their hands. But from the opening tip-off, the ball was fed down low almost every time. I’m ready to say that no team, not even the Duke Blue Devils has the depth and size up front to match the Spartans.
Even last year’s title finalist North Carolina and Gonzaga’s rosters pail in comparison to this roster. Ben Carter went from a featured player on last year’s team to an afterthought in tonight’s game.
Miles Bridges had his normal outstanding outing with an efficient 20 points and ten rebounds. Nick Ward may not have gone for the 30 and 20 as I predicted, but still was literally perfect with 16 points on 6-6 shooting. Top-ten recruit Jaren Jackson showed that the praise was necessary, going with a 13 and 13 double-double.
The guards played their roles just fine, with Cassius Winston and “Tum Tum” Nairn combined for 12 assists together. The only negative from tonight was their 3-12 shooting from 3, which may be a reoccurring issue down the road. But as long as they keep feeding the ball down low like today, they’ll be just fine.
As for North Florida, it’s clear that the loss of Dallas Moore was going to affect them this year. They did have one bright spot in Ivan Gandia-Rosa. the 6’1 guard had 19 points with five threes and could be the new lead guard for the Ospreys this upcoming season.
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After the Spartans warm-up game against the Ospreys, all eyes will be on Duke for the incredible Champions Classic doubleheader coming on Tuesday. I’m already on record saying the Spartans have the best frontcourt depth in the country, and, in a few days, they can prove me right.
Michigan State next game: 11/14 – Duke (N)
North Florida next game: 11/12 – Michigan (A)