Five Takeaways: Joey Hauser, Spartan backcourt lead MSU past Brown

Michigan State got off to a slow start, but pulled away from an easy victory over their visitors from the Ivy League...

Though Michigan State got off to a slow start offensively, the Spartans settled in and had no trouble dispatching Ivy League-foe Brown University, 68-50, on Wednesday night.

Here's what stood out from the victory for MSU:

1.) Joey Hauser eclipses 1,000 career points

Joey Hauser struggled through much of his first two seasons in East Lansing, but he returned as a fifth-year senior this season and has looked like a different player entirely.

Tonight, Hauser scored 22 points which lifted him over the 1,000-point threshold for his career. The senior scored in an efficient fashion as well, going 9-of-13 from the floor and 2-for-4 from three-point range. He added five rebounds and four assists to round out a strong performance.

Hauser rediscovering that shooting stroke has been a major development for the Spartans this season. This is the player that Izzo and MSU fans thought they were getting when Hauser transferred to East Lansing in 2019.

2.) Spartan backcourt flexes offensive muscles

Outside of Hauser's production, Michigan State didn't get much scoring help from its frontcourt.

With that, the Spartans' backcourt needed to bring its 'A' game, and they did just that. Point guard A.J. Hoggard continued the momentum of his career night against Penn State on Wednesday, scoring 17 points tonight and adding four rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot. Hoggard shot 6-of-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from the foul line.

Senior guard Tyson Walker also reached double-figures for MSU, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Sophomore guard Jaden Akins was close behind with nine points on 3-of-7 shooting, and added two assists and two steals.

We knew coming in to this season that Michigan State's strength was its backcourt, and that's come to fruition. However, the Spartans are anxiously waiting for small forward Malik Hall to get healthy and provide Hauser with some help in the frontcourt.

3.) Offensive rebounds allowed frustrate Izzo

Michigan State had a huge size advantage over Brown in this one, but the Spartans were getting out-hustled to start the game. The Spartans surrendered five offensive rebounds in the first seven minutes of the game, resulting in a furious Tom Izzo calling timeout and laying into his team.

MSU ended up allowing seven offensive rebounds in the first half and 11 for the game. The Spartans settled in and started using their size to their advantage, finishing with a 43-36 edge on the glass for the game, but Izzo won't be pleased when he rewatches the film from those opening minutes.

4.) Tough game for Pierre Brooks

Sophomore Pierre Brooks had a rough go of it today for the Spartans. He drew Izzo's ire early in the game for some defensive breakdowns, and was also pulled aside for a one-on-one chat with the head coach after surrendering a layup late in the game.

On top of that, Brooks shot just 2-of-9 from the field on his way to four points. The sophomore did grab six rebounds, but at least two of those came on the same possession off of his own missed shots under the rim.

Brooks has scored in double-figures a couple times this year, and he can get hot from outside, but this game is one he'd like to forget.

5.) Other standouts...

It wasn't the prettiest day offensively for Michigan State. The Spartans shot a solid, but not spectacular, 42 percent from the floor and 36 percent from the three-point line. However, MSU had 21 assists on 27 made field goals, and that's an excellent ratio for the Spartans.

On a different note, although centers Mady Sissoko and Jaxon Kohler didn't provide much scoring, they foudn ways to contribute in other areas. Sissoko finished with seven rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal. Kohler added seven rebounds, an assists and two blocked shots to go with the two points he scored.

Finally, freshman point guard Tre Holloman deserves some recognition for a career-high six assists tonight. 

Up Next

Michigan State gets 11 days between games after this win over Brown, and that's probably music to Izzo's ears. The Spartans have a lot of things to improve on — pick-and-roll defense for one — and the time off will help Akins and Hall nurse their foot injuries as well.

This can be a good basketball team. Michigan State showed that early this season in games against Gonzaga and Kentucky, among others. But the Spartans need to get healthy and to take an exhale following a brutal non-conference slate of games. MSU will return on Wednesday, Dec. 21 when the Spartans host Oakland.