You know you're a good shooter when there's a drinking game named after your 3-point shot.
"I hear about it all the time," sophomore guard Maurice Ager said. "First time I heard about it was from one of (walk-on guard Anthony) Hamo's friends. Every time I hit a three, they drink something."
Ager's shots from behind the arc are becoming notoriously known as "Ager Bombs." It's taken from the name of a drink some students would probably like to forget - the Jäger Bomb.
"It's all around campus now - when (Ager) makes a three, everyone has Jägermeister and Red Bull mixed together, and they have a shot of it," Hamo said. "If he gets too hot, everyone on campus is going to be going crazy."
Ager has been hot lately (he's made 45.8 percent of his 3-point attempts during the Big Ten season), but he's not the only one. In fact, just about all of MSU's guards are shooting well, and it's making the Spartans an incredibly tough team to defend.
"I said at the beginning of the year, I thought this would be one of our better offensive teams and I think it helps that we're getting the ball in to Paul (Davis) more," head coach Tom Izzo said.
The 6-foot-11 Davis commands a lot of attention in the post from opposing defenses, which gives other players on the court good looks from the perimeter.
Just getting an open shot, though, isn't enough. The shots still have to be made, and the Spartans have a legion of marksmen who are killing opponents with their outside accuracy.
With a league-best field goal percentage of 48.4, MSU is the best shooting team in the Big Ten. Guards Ager, Chris Hill, Shannon Brown and Kelvin Torbert are a big reason why MSU is at the top of the list.
Hill, Brown and Torbert all are shooting better than 46 percent from the floor. Ager, who was in a slump early this season, is shooting 34.7 percent.
Izzo said the team's improved accuracy is due to extra emphasis put on shooting in practice. Last season, MSU shot 45.2 percent.
Assistant coach Mark Montgomery coordinates the shooting drills. He said the team is spending an extra 20 minutes of practice on shooting, especially in game situations.
"We just thought we had a better group of shooters," Montgomery said. "As you can see, their percentages are very high."
MSU's hot shooting has translated into wins. The Spartans have a 6-2 conference record, good for second place, and are shooting 53.8 percent in those eight games.
On the other hand, MSU shot 43.2 percent in its five nonconference losses to ranked teams.
"Early on, Coach kept saying it was going to come," said Hill of the team's shooting touch. "Because we weren't shooting as well, and I think with the shooters we have, myself and Maurice and Shannon, we've always been good shooters."
Hill and Ager are known for their shooting ability and a lot was expected of Brown, a highly touted freshman, so their success hasn't been much of a surprise.
But this season, Torbert, whose jump shot has been widely criticized in the past, has put himself in the same class as MSU's more recognizable shooters.
In fact, he has the highest shooting percentage among MSU's guards at, 55 percent. The junior also is making 45.2 percent of his 3-pointers.
When Torbert came to MSU, he was supposed to be a superstar. He was Michigan's Mr. Basketball in 2001 and was on multiple high school All-American teams. In his first two seasons, Torbert's offense never came around and many blamed his jump shot, because it appeared he shot the ball on the way down, instead of at the peak of his jump.
After last season, Izzo said Torbert was determined to improve his shooting.
"This summer was the greatest summer for Kelvin Torbert because he got (the ball) off the top of his head and he got it where he's not shooting on the way down," Izzo said. "To see the success he's having stat-wise for our team, he's still so unselfish, it's really a neat thing for a coach."
Torbert, too, is pleased with the results of his hard work.
"Knowing that guys not only just look at you as an athletic player or a driver, now they got to respect you and know that you can shoot the ball, too," he said. "That's a real tough thing to guard."
Although Torbert has made great strides as a shooter and has been the most accurate among MSU's guards this season, there's still no question who the team's best shooter is.
"Chris is, lights out, the best shooter we got," Torbert said of Hill. "He's always going to be there, no matter how hard we work on it. He's got a form of art, he's just a pure shooter."
Indeed, Hill's shot can sometimes look like poetry in motion. His coaches say he's the best catch-and-shoot player on the team, and he's got the numbers to back it up. Hill leads the Big Ten in both 3-point field goal percentage, at 47.8 percent, and 3-pointers made per game, at nearly three a game.
"He's one of the best shooters in the country, if you ask me," Ager said.
