3 Observations from Michigan State's Dismantling of Maryland
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EAST LANSING, Mich. — It was just “one of those days” for Michigan State basketball in a good way, as Tom Izzo put it.
The 10th-ranked Spartans were all over Maryland, dominating the Terrapins, 91-48. It’s the fewest points MSU has allowed in a game since surrendering just 41 at Ohio State on Feb. 12, 2023. Michigan State went to 18-2 overall and 8-1 during Big Ten play with the win.
Saturday’s game was over from the jump, and maybe even before that. The Spartans were up 24-4 about eight minutes into the contest. It was mostly party time at the Breslin Center from that point on.
Here are some things that stood out from Michigan State’s decimation of the Terrapins:
Pre-Tip Disorganization for Maryland
In hindsight, the signs were kind of there for an MSU victory before the game even began. During the moments leading up to tip-off, there were already some signs of a lack of organization for Maryland.
While Michigan State’s starting lineups were being introduced, I took a look over at Maryland’s huddle. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, except there was a group of three assistants talking away from the huddle. But judging from the pretty relaxed body language, I have doubts that the conversation centered around the Terrapins’ game plan.
After that, when the lights of the Breslin Center had turned back on and everyone was getting ready for tip-off, another sign showed itself. I looked down at the Maryland bench again and saw one player already having a disagreement on something with another assistant. Those types of conversations are normal, but bickering before a game has even started is never a great sign.
It’s definitely been a difficult season for the Terrapins, who are now 8-12 overall and 1-8 during conference play. They’re currently without their best player, Pharrel Payne. Regardless, MSU looked like a much more organized team and program, even before it was time to officially show it.
Carson Cooper Shoots Now?
It was like one of those cliché moments in a movie where a character scratches their eyeballs to make sure they aren’t hallucinating or something. Did Carson Cooper just drill a three-pointer?
Yep! Michigan State already had a relatively significant lead, which likely emboldened Cooper to shoot when he found himself open near the right wing, but he let one fly and cashed one to make it 35-18, Spartans, with just under six minutes to go in the first half.
“Are you on drugs?” Izzo said when asked if Cooper had the “green light” to shoot from deepnow.
Cooper’s game had been leading up to this moment. He said afterward that it was a good “benchmark” for him, but he’s slowly been extending his range outward this season. The mid-range jumper has been a truly efficient shot coming out of Cooper’s hand, and he’s made a few shots this season just a step in front of the arc. This was just the first time he drilled one outside of it.
Izzo Can’t Even Complain
No matter what the score is, it seems Izzo always has something that he can point to and complain about. I attempted to theorize what Izzo would point to on the box score, the best guesses being Jeremy Fears Jr.’s four turnovers, only having 56 field goal attempts, and maybe that Maryland had the same number of offensive rebounds the Spartans had (nine).
Izzo really couldn’t find anything, because those theories come with positive caveats. Fears had 17 assists to those four turnovers, tied for the second-most dimes in a game in Michigan State history. MSU partially only got so many shots up and got so many offensive boards because it ended up shooting 60.7% from the field. It’s tough to get offensive rebounds and the extra shot or shots that come with them when you make that many shots the first time.
It feels like this game kind of showed the ceiling for this Spartan team. Calling Maryland’s performance bad would be putting it nicely, but you’d be hard-pressed to see a team that can beat Michigan State when it does what it did on Saturday.
MSU will have its chance to prove it can beat anyone real soon. It has one more game on the easier side at Rutgers on Tuesday (6:30 p.m. ET, FS1), but then the real grind begins. No. 3 Michigan comes to town this coming Friday in what is set to be a game where the Breslin reaches its apex again, atmosphere-wise.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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