Five Takeaways: Michigan State falls to Duke in another classic showdown

The Spartans went toe-to-toe with the Blue Devils, but didn't have enough to pull off the upset...

Michigan State's men's basketball season has come to an end.

On Sunday, the Spartans fell to Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, 85-76, in the final matchup between Tom Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski. 

Michigan State led 70-65 with five minutes to play, but Duke outscored the Spartans 20-6 to end the game, with many of those points coming at the free throw line for the Blue Devils.

The Spartans finish their season at 23-13 overall.

Michigan State led 16-13 early, as the teams felt each other out in the opening nine minutes of play. The Spartans got off to a great start defensively, swatting four Duke shot attempts in the early-goings.

The Blue Devils went on the game's first run after that, scoring 10 in a row to take a 23-16 lead. Michigan State missed 11 consecutive shot attempts during the stretch, and were held scoreless for six minutes before finally ending the drought with a Julius Marble putback layup.

The Spartan fell behind by as many as seven points, 28-21, but started chipping away at the lead via the three-ball, coming back to tie the game 33-33 with a minute and a half left in the first frame.

Duke took a 39-36 lead into halftime, and then scored the first five points of the second half to take their largest lead of the game. The teams traded baskets from there, and the Blue Devils lead was 57-49 with 12 minutes left in the game

Then the Spartans started chipping away again, and AJ Hoggard brought the game to a 65-65 tie with a pair of free throws. Michigan State kept the momentum rolling from there, retaking the lead for the first time since early in the first half, and extending it to 70-65.

With their backs to the ropes, Duke responded with a 13-4 run, punctuated by a dagger of the three-pointer from Jeremy Roach to put the Blue Devils up 78-74 with just over a minute remaining. The Spartans were never able to recover from there.

1. A fitting finale to Izzo vs. Krzyzewski

This game lived up to all of the storylines of the final battle between Tom Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski. Give the players on both sides of this matchup a lot of credit — the head coaches got all the headlines, but the players on the floor delivered an instant classic. History will only remember the final score, and Coach K's 13-3 record against Izzo, but this game encapsulated everything that made the series between Duke and Michigan State special over these past two decades. It would have been another feather in Izzo's cap to end Krzyzewski's decorated career, but that honor will fall to someone else — or the Blue Devils will find themselves cutting down the nets at season's end.

2. Seniors stuff the stat sheet

Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham Jr. played the way you expect seniors to play in the NCAA Tournament — like their collegiate careers depended on it. Brown led Michigan State in scoring with 18 points, and was a flame-thrower from outside, knocking down four of six three-point attempts. He shot 7-of-11 overall, and added two rebounds and a blocked shot.

Bingham Jr., played the part of the rim protector as he has so many times this season. The Spartans' all-time leading shot-blocker added three more to his career total against Duke. Bingham Jr. finished with a double-double, 16 points and 10 rebounds, adding two steals.

Joey Hauser didn't have much of a scoring impact in this one, but finished with a stat line of five points, six rebounds and three assists. If this was the last that we've seen of this Spartan trio, they left it all on the floor.

3. Michigan State's backcourt gives hope for next season

The Spartans got solid efforts tonight from its guards. Michigan State stuggled with the speed of Duke's backcourt, but countered it with physicality and timely shot-making. AJ Hoggard had eight points, three rebounds and four assists, while fellow point guard Tyson Walker came off the bench to score 13 points, and he added five assists. The two combined for just three turnovers.

Max Christie had an up-and-down freshman year, but there are plenty of reasons to believe he could be a future star in the Green and White. Christie shot 4-of-8 from the floor and had nine points, three rebounds and two assists. A costly turnover late in the game when the Spartans trailed by four will plague the youngster however. We're excited to see how he develops this offseason.

Finally, Jaden Akins didn't get many minutes tonight, but knocked down the only shot attempt he took — a three-pointer. Akins was an excellent perimeter defender this season for MSU, and had a knack for knocking down critical shots. He'll be a breakout star as a sophomore in my opinion.

4. Malik Hall, Julius Marble struggle

Malik Hall had a rough finish to his season. After emerging as a go-to option on offense midway through the season, the junior just didn't play with a whole lot of confidence in February and March. Hall accumulated a few injuries down the stretch, and I wonder if that is a partial explanation to his lack of production late this year. Against Duke, Hall was held scoreless and had just three shot attempts.

Meanwhile, Julius Marble rolled an ankle badly midway through the game that limited his ability as well. The junior struggled against the size and strength of Duke's bigs, and finished with just four points and two rebounds on 2-of-9 shooting. Marble showed he can be a solid option in the post on several occasions this season. Is he a quality option as the Spartans' starting center in 2022-23? That remains to be seen, but Marble proved himself a reliable backup this year.

5. Izzo goes back to the drawing board

Michigan State has failed to get out of the opening weekend for the second consecutive year, and you can bet your bottom dollar that doesn't sit well with Mr. March. The Spartans had a run to the Final Four in 2019, and seemed poise for another deep run in 2020 before that tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Spartans have lacked the star power necessary to survive the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament these past two years.

Michigan State has a nice core coming back next season, led by Hoggard, Christie and Walker, but the Spartans need other guys to take a big step in their development this offseason.