Oakland Basketball: 3 takeaways from loss to Michigan State Spartans

Oakland Basketball entering this game was 7-3 with some impressive wins that include a road win over Oklahoma State. However, they came up short against the Spartans.

Oakland kept it close early by shooting well beyond the arc

Michigan State came out playing very well but Jamal Cain and Jalen Moore hit two early three-pointers to keep it a close game early. Then when Michigan State came out to a 15-8 lead, Moore was fouled on what appeared to be a three-point attempt but after further review, it was a two-point attempt and he made both his free throws. Micah Parris not long after, made a three-pointer to cut down the Spartan lead.

Moore after Michigan State got a double-digit lead made a three to make it a nine-point game and Cain then made a three-pointer to make it a 36-30 lead. Cain would then make another three to make it only a Spartan three-point lead with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Spartans went on a 6-0 run to end the half to take a nine-point lead into the half. Oakland shot 46.2% from three-point range in the first half compared to the Spartans who only shot 28.6% from beyond the arc.

Moore, Cain, and Parrish Played well for Oakland

In the first half, Cain was five from seven from the field and three for four from three-point range. He had 13 points, three rebounds, and an assist at the half. Moore played well in the first half as he shot four from six from the field and made two out of his three-point attempts. Moore had 12 points, five assists, and two rebounds at halftime. Parrish was three for six from the field and had eight points and four rebounds at the half.

Moore finished the game with 25 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds. Cain ended the game with 20 points, six rebounds, and two assists and Parrish finished the game with 19 points and eight rebounds. All three played very well and kept then game close throughout the night.

The Rebounds and Assists by Michigan State were too much to overcome

Oakland was outrebounded for most the game as the Spartans big men and tall, lengthy guards crashed the boards on the offensive and defensive end. Michigan State also did a great job against the Golden Grizzlies 1-3-1 zone defense by rotating the ball and going inside creating many assist opportunities for the Spartans.

Michigan State outrebounded the Golden Grizzlies by a 33 to 25 margin and the Spartans had 28 total assists compared to Oakland’s 17. Michigan State had great ball movement which lead to then having 11 more assists than the Golden Grizzlies.

Oakland overall is a good rebounding team who usually has more assists than their opponents but the Spartans were able to limit them on the boards and contain their ball movement especially in the half-court.