Head coach Tom Izzo said he’s not worried about the uncertainty of the shot, but he knows that there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“We got a lot of threes from the break, which was nice, but we didn’t get a lot of threes from inside-out passing” Izzo said. “We didn’t get the ball inside enough. We settled a little bit. Part of that is my fault in the zone offense.”

Sophomore guard Gary Harris led the Spartans with 21 points and 5-7 from three point range.

He said if he has an open shot, he’s going to take it, but he doesn’t want shooting to be the only solid part of his game.

“I want to work on getting to the basket instead of being labeled a three point shooter, but my shot was falling all night, so I’ll just keep rolling with it,” Harris said. “It’s a pretty good part of me but I’m pretty versatile.”

Junior guard Russell Byrd showed signs of resurgence with a nine-point night, tied for third highest on the team.

His back-to-back nine-point games are the two highest scoring games in his Spartan career, and every field goal he’s made this season has been a three-pointer.

“I’m very confident,” Byrd said. “I’ll keep doing what I’ve been doing which is everyday coming to the gym before and after practice and working on it and keep getting better. It’s the lift that coach has been looking for for the past two years, to have somebody besides Gary or (former guard Brandon) Wood that can hit those open shots.”

The talented shooting guard was brought to East Lansing for his shooting capabilities, but has yet to find a consistent rhythm in green and white.

Now, with two solid showings in both exhibition games, Byrd is primed to perform on both ends of the floor.

“If I go out there and hit five threes, but then get beat five times on defense, it kinda cancels itself out,” he said. “If I’m out there doing what (Izzo) recruited me to do, then it makes things better for everybody.”

Eight different Spartans have made a three-point shot this season.

With dates against Kansas and North Carolina on the schedule, the Spartans can’t always rely on the three-point shot to be a viable option, but to have the confidence and ability to hit them in the clutch could be a valuable asset.

“Last game I thought we had a lot of good ones,” Izzo said. “This game I thought we had a lot of good ones. We’re swinging the ball better than we have in ten years, and when we do hold it, we’re going to jump them for it. When we get shots like that, we’re going to take them, but I’d like to get some more inside out when we’re squared up and get the ball in there more.”