Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from exhibition win over DII Northern Michigan

Right before the NCAA Basketball season starts is exhibition/scrimmage season, where teams take on opponents to get a look at their new-look roster. Among the televised games is Michigan State Basketball, who played at D-II foe Northern Michigan, the alma mater of head coach, Tom Izzo.

It was a celebration event for the Hall of Famer but the players aimed to put on an impressive show on Sunday afternoon. The result was a 70-53 victory, with the favorites never in doubt. It was a preseason game that doesnt count, so you can't take too much away from the events. Still, there are always some notable developments, both good and bad, that come from the games being played.

Here are some takeaways from the Spartans game.

Zapala the starting center

There were two transfers for Michigan State this offseason: Frankie Fidler and Syzmon Zapala. The 6'10 "center from Longwood was efficient on the court, but the question was whether he would be a big enough pickup for the Spartans. He got the start for the Big Ten team, playing 16 minutes. He scored six points and had a team-high nine rebounds. He might not play too much for Michigan State, but he proved to be impactful on the court.

Richardson, Teng most impressive

The minutes were mostly split among the 11 players vying for rotation spots. Xavier Booker had 10 points in 21 points but the team-high score was freshman guard Jase Richardson, going for 11 points on 4/4 shooting and a team-high four assists. He arguably outplayed starting guard Jeremy Fears in the backourt. The other player with multiple made three-pointers was Kur Teng, with six points on two long-balls. The team with 8/17 from deep thanks to the freshmen, who may be in line for rotation spots in their first years.

Jaden Akins' preseason concerns continues

Michigan State Basketball returned one starter from last season in Jaden Akins, who averaged 10.4 ppg. He didn't have the greatest set of games when the team went on their international tour and Akins stood out for the wrong reasons in this game, going just 2/12 from the field.

The big question with Akins is whether or not he can be the lead guy for the Spartans. So far, he's looking more of role player than a go-to guy. We'll see a month from now if that changes but if it doesn't, Michigan State will need to find its scoring weapons elsewhere.