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Michigan State Basketball: 2019-20 keys to victory over Seton Hall in Gavitt Games

By Austin Walther

EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans hugs Cassius Winston #5 during the second half against the Binghamton Bearcats at Breslin Center on November 10, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans hugs Cassius Winston #5 during the second half against the Binghamton Bearcats at Breslin Center on November 10, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 05: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 05: Xavier Tillman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /

The 2019 Gavitt Tip-Off Games will come to an end Thursday night when Michigan State Basketball goes on the road to play Seton Hall. What will the Spartans have to do to beat a good Pirates team even without their All-American?

There’s a slight possibility that Michigan State Basketball and Seton Hall will both be out of their star players Thursday night in the finale of the Gavitt Games. Myles Powell’s status for the Pirates is not good as he is in a walking boot. Cassius Winston should be a go, but his brother did just pass away. He played in his first game since the passing and recorded a double-double. But Tom Izzo has granted him full autonomy. Winston though appears to be ready to play as there is no news about him missing the game.

It’s always hard to judge the four teams right away after the Champions Classic. Either they pick up a very good win or suffer a loss that shouldn’t be deemed bad. Then they go and play some cupcakes, skewing statistics. Michigan State played their best against Kentucky. The Spartans then routed Binghamton and played everyone.

Michigan State did keep their same lineup. I mean why not. They only lost by seven to a really good Wildcats team and the Bearcats weren’t going to pose much of a threat. Thomas Kithier was probably the biggest surprise as a starter on opening night. He played for 19 minutes. Gabe Brown and Kyle Ahrens both played more minutes off the bench. Kithier played the same amount in the second game.

The minutes got distributed evenly against the Bearcats. Five guys played 10 or more minutes. Freshman Malik Hall led the Spartans reserves in minutes, but their 2018 top-recruit Marcus Bingham Jr. scored 13 points off the bench. As expected, the rebounds went up and the turnovers went down. Michigan State though still managed to shoot under 30 percent from behind-the-arc. But the Spartans did shoot 74 percent from everywhere else.

It looks like Michigan State is going to have to score from other places to get their points. Joey Hauser will not play this season and Joshua Langford won’t be back until the calendar says 2020. The Spartans are still a great rebounding team, play pretty solid defense and have a nice bench this season. They will need that and more to hold off Seton Hall in the finale of the Gavitt Games.

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