With the regular-season opener right around the corner, MSU head coach Tom Izzo hoped to find some answers to the many questions surrounding his team during Sunday's final exhibition game against Northern Michigan.
Will the freshman class be able to contribute? Will MSU have a reliable post presence? Who will pick up the slack on the offensive end?
The final score, a 74-63 MSU victory, was almost inconsequential. And while not all the questions were answered, Izzo was able to come out of the game with a better sense of what his team can and cannot do.
In his first game, freshman forward Raymar Morgan excelled, leading all scorers with 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Sophomore center Goran Suton showed some of the post moves Izzo raved about in the past, scoring 15 points and adding 12 rebounds.
"It was enough good to feel decent and enough bad to have a lot of work ahead," Izzo said. "The biggest thing I'm concerned about is our focus when we get a little tired."
Izzo also found out what his team would look like without junior guard Drew Neitzel.
Neitzel did not start because he came down with the flu recently but was well enough to come off the bench and play 23 minutes, scoring 12 points and dishing out six assists.
Sophomore guard Travis Walton handled most of the time at point guard, but he did not have a good game, going scoreless in 24 minutes while turning the ball over seven times. He had eight assists.
"I thought Travis played better in practice this week after his game at Grand Valley (State)," Izzo said. "Some of the turnovers he had tonight, I'm not even worried about because they were so ridiculous that he couldn't try to do it again if he wanted to."
The Spartans came out hot to start the game, taking a 20-10 lead in the first eight minutes, but some hot shooting by Wildcats forward Sebastien Salois quickly cut the deficit in half.
MSU's lead ballooned to 11 at halftime, as Suton and Morgan carried much of the scoring load late in the half.
Northern Michigan's first three field goals of the second half were 3-pointers, but it took eight minutes to accomplish that. The Spartans could not take full advantage as they added just three points to their lead.
After that, MSU scored three straight baskets to take a 60-39 lead.
The Wildcats battled back by hitting some 3-point shots, but they couldn't get closer than the final deficit of 11. Neither team scored a basket in the final three minutes.
"We made some improvements today from Wednesday," Neitzel said. "We haven't played all together for significant minutes. Coach had some different lineups in there today, and that's why we might have struggled at times. I think we'll be ready to go on Wednesday."
The Spartans open their regular season at home at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Brown.
