Biggest Riser, Faller from MSU Basketball's Win over Quinnipiac

Here are the guys who increased and decreased their stock the most on Monday night.

Michigan State’s head coach Tom Izzo calls out to players during the first half against Quinnipiac on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

EAST LANSING — Michigan State basketball is off and running in its highly anticipated 2026-27 campaign.

The sixth-ranked Spartans tamed the Bobcats of Quinnipiac early on Monday, dominating the first half in an eventual 96-59 victory to start 1-0. MSU, whose next game is against Toledo on Thursday, got all 11 available scholarship players into the game during the win. Here is the player whose stock increased the most, and then the one player who may have slipped a little bit.

Biggest Riser: Carlos Medlock Jr.

Michigan State’s Carlos Medlock Jr., left, celebrates after strong and drawing a Quinnipiac foul during the first half on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

How’s that for a first (official) impression? Freshman point guard Carlos Medlock Jr. was an instant impact player on Monday night off the bench. His very first collegiate possession ended with him draining a stepback three. That set the tone for a remarkable first shift in a Michigan State uniform: providing nine points and two assists in just four minutes.

It’s the type of run from a backup point guard that MSU never really got last season. Divine Ugochukwu had his moments, but he doesn’t provide the smoothness and the versatility on the offensive end that Medlock does. Any semblance of production went away after Ugochukwu’s injury, too, and the Spartans were forced to rely upon Denham Wojcik.

Medlock will have to keep it up, but Monday was a very good sign after he largely struggled during Michigan State’s three exhibition games. Part of that perception was shots not falling, but they fell on Monday. Medlock probably cannot play every game the way he played this one, but the fact he’s a real threat to do this is already a marked improvement. 

The big hole for Medlock was his free throws. He went 0-for-4 from the charity stripe against Quinnipiac, missing three of them on one trip. That's probably not anything to be worried about longer-term with Medlock, though.

Biggest Faller: Ethan Taylor

Nov 2, 2026; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Ethan Taylor (10) explains himself to Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo during the first half on the bench at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The official debut wasn’t quite as kind to Ethan Taylor. He was a player who was going to be tasked with getting more minutes on Monday in Jesse McCulloch’s absence due to a "minor concussion," but Taylor just didn’t really make a huge impact in this one.

Competition at the center position is going to be absolutely fierce during the non-conference slate. It’s the team’s biggest question and/or concern right now, and every game will be a valuable data point towards an eventual resolution. Anton Bonke actually handed in a nice performance on Monday after really struggling during the exhibition games with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks. Taylor largely outplayed Bonke during the exhibition games, but Round 1 in the regular season went to the team’s more experienced transfer portal addition. 

This isn’t to say at all that Taylor won’t be a major part of things moving forward, though. His ceiling for this year is still high; he is just a bit on the raw side for a freshman, and it may take him a month or two to really get settled in.