The win improved MSU to 22-0 all-time against Oakland.

It was anything but Oakland’s night shooting the basketball – the Grizzlies were held to just 36% from the field and 31% from behind the arc. MSU’s soundness on defense played a big role, pressuring lead guards Jack Gohlke, Blake Lampman and Rocket Watts all over the court by forcing them to make contested shots. 

The three combined to shoot just 12-for-34. On Saturday, MSU held Baylor, a top-five shooting team in the country, to just 64 points. Those consecutive showings are a good sign for a group that views its defense as its main identity. The Spartans should be able to contend with anybody when holding their opponents to such splits. 

On the offensive side for MSU, the bulk of Monday night’s scoring was by committee. Ten players reached the scoring column with three in double figures. The Spartans’ shooting splits continue to improve – they shot 49% from the field and 42% from behind the arc.

After being held to a measly two points at halftime, graduate student guard Tyson Walker found his stroke, tallying 12 second-half points to lead all scorers at the game’s end. 

The Spartans possessed the lead for all 40 minutes of Monday night’s contest. They mounted an early advantage and prevented the Grizzlies from finding any flow offensively.

Though Michigan State led 6-0 before Oakland guard and former Spartan got the Grizzlies on the board, it took some time for MSU to settle into its offense against Greg Kampe’s famous zone. But Oakland struggled to make shots early, converting on just one of their first eight three-point attempts.

The Spartans weren’t particularly adept at shooting in the first half, either, but found the net on enough good looks to have an early lead. Guards Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman buried threes, while sophomore center Carson Cooper scored on a post move and a put-back, one-handed slam. The Spartans led 17-11 through 12 minutes of play.  

Lampman, a native of Haslett, MI, was the Grizzlies’ catalyst early on, knocking down three triples in the first half to keep his squad hanging around. Still, the Spartans did a good job of making one of the Grizzlies’ top shooting threats shoot over them and playing him tight on the perimeter. 

The final two minutes of the first half saw MSU get its running game going, similar to the way it did on Saturday, as Holloman and Akins both scored in transition to increase the Spartans lead to 11. 

The Spartans led 30-22 at the break, holding Oakland to just 9-for-31 shooting from the field.

Walker led the way for MSU out of the break, knocking down his first two threes of the night. The Spartans pushed their lead to as much as 20 in the opening minutes of the second half after Oakland came out of the locker room as flat as it entered, struggling to convert on the difficult shots MSU was forcing it to take. MSU continued to excel on both ends, gaining an insurmountable advantage before long. The Spartans coasted to a 17-point win to begin their first winning streak in a month.

It may not have been the most exciting win of the year or even the week, but it once again proved the Spartans are capable of controlling a game for 40 minutes against a respected program. 

Michigan State returns home on Thursday, Dec. 21 to host the Stony Brook Seawolves at 6:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center.