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Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from Duke win in Champions Classic

By Carter Landis

ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 08: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on in the first half of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Arena on February 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - FEBRUARY 08: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans looks on in the first half of the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Arena on February 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State Basketball Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State Basketball Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Went through adversity

Although Michigan State did go on the road to the toughest environment in college basketball (in a regular-season) and get a big win, it certainly wasn’t pretty.

The Spartans struggled quite a bit early in the game, looking sloppy and turning the ball over. They couldn’t get into their offense, missing a lot of open 3s. They were also fouling Duke in Cameron Indoor, which is not a recipe for a win, it’s more so a disastrous recipe for a blowout loss.

But they were able to overcome all these miscues, never giving up in the game and sticking to their game plan. It goes to show how talented this team is, how well they’re coached, and how good of a leader Aaron Henry has turned out to be. After the departure of Cassius Winston, this team needed to find an identity and a leader, and it looks like they’ve found their leader in the captain in Henry.

It wasn’t a pretty win at all for Michigan State, but you always would rather win ugly than lose pretty. While they had their fair share of mistakes, they just proved themselves to be the better team for the majority of the game.

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