Five Takeaways: Huge First-Half Run Lifts Michigan State Past Nebraska

The Spartans start 2023 off right with a big win over the Cornhuskers!

After playing to an 11-11 tie with Nebraska through the first seven and a half minutes, Michigan State men's basketball seized control of the game with a 28-6 run over the final 12:33 of the first half during Tuesday night's home tilt against the Cornhuskers.

The Spartans scored the final 13 points of the opening frame to take a 39-17 lead into the locker room, before closing out Nebraska in the second half for a 74-56 victory. Michigan State improves to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play as a result.

Here's what stood out most from an impressive effort by Tom Izzo's Spartans.

1.) Tyson Walker goes supernova in 1st half

The senior guard was in his bag tonight. Tyson Walker came out of the gate flame-throwing for the Spartans, hitting six of his first seven shots (including two three-pointers) to score 14 points in the opening 10 and a half minutes. At that time, Walker was outscoring Nebraska by himself, as the Cornhuskers had mustered just 13 points.

Walker drew much more attention from Nebraska after that hot start, and the senior cooled a bit after that. He finished with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to pace Michigan State.

2.) Michigan State bows up on defense

The Spartans were swarming on defense tonight, particularly in the first half. Michigan State allowed only 17 points to the Huskers in the opening 20 minutes, as Nebraska shot just 28 percent from the floor and 1-of-11 from beyond the three-point line. MSU also forced seven first-half Nebraska turnovers, and converted those into 11 points.

The Cornhuskers settled in after halftime, and wound up shooting 42 percent from the floor for the game, but just 2-of-16 from deep. The Spartans also dominated the glass, out-rebounding Nebraska 46-29 for the game.

3.) Spartans' ball movement excellent in transition

Particularly in that incredible first half, Michigan State's ball movement while in transition was excellent. The Spartans didn't just settle for the first shot, they worked for the best shot. The result was multiple corner threes and several easy mid-range jumpshots that fell.

Officially, Michigan State finished with just eight fast break points, but the Spartans got much of their first half offensive production during transition opportunities.

4.) Jaxon Kohler flashes offensive potential

Freshman Jaxon Kohler has been pressed into action off the bench early and often during his first season in East Lansing, in relief of starting center Mady Sissoko.

Kohler stills struggles defensively, but his offensive potential is evident and that came to fruition tonight for the Spartans. The freshman scored 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting off the bench. Kohler has a nice jumpshot for a big man, but also featured soft touch around the rim tonight as well. He still has a ways to go defensively, but if MSU can get steady scoring from Kohler his freshman season will be considered a success.

5.) A mixed bag once again for Pierre Brooks

Pierre Brooks has had an up-and-down sophomore season thus far. He's scored in double-figures off the bench a couple times, but he's been step slow defensively and was disciplined for tardiness early this season as well.

Tonight, Brooks once again made a nice contribution offensively off the bench with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, but the defensive lapses remain. Brooks was beaten off the dribble on a pair of occasions in the second half, drawing Izzo's ire.

Brook's potential is high, and he's already proven he can score at the collegiate level, but defense is a priority on a Tom Izzo-coached ball club.

Up Next

Michigan State improves to 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play after this victory, and will play host to in-state rival Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines (8-5, 2-0) host Penn State tomorrow ahead of the rivalry matchup with the Spartans.

While the men's basketball rivalry between the two universities has been more respectful over the last decade and a half than the football rivalry has, make no mistake — there is nobody that Tom Izzo and his club want to beat more than Michigan. There's no doubt that the Breslin Center will be rocking on Saturday afternoon.