The Most Critical Part of Michigan State's Win Over Minnesota

The Michigan State Spartans may be better than many anticipated heading into the 2024-25 college basketball season.

Michigan State improved to 7-2 with its win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Wednesday night, which came a week after the Spartans upset the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The final score itself against Minnesota was impressive enough, as Michigan State came away with a 90-72 victory.

But there was one thing in particular that made the Spartans' performance so eye-opening.

Their 3-point shooting.

Michigan State went 11-for-22 from beyond the arc versus the Golden Gophers, which was, by far, the team's best outside shooting showing of the season.

Overall this year, the Spartans are making just 25.7 percent of their triples, which ranks 351st in the nation. So yeah, not good.

However, Michigan State's outing against Minnesota could be evidence that Tom Izzo's squad is turning a corner.

Xavier Booker went 3-for-4 from distance, and both Jaden Akins and Tre Holloman buried a pair of treys. And the Spartans managed to shoot that well in spite of Jase Richardson misfiring on both of his long-range attempts.

Of course, the question is whether or not this was an outlier or a sign of things to come.

Against North Carolina, for example, Michigan State went just 4-of-16 from deep, which was much more in line with how the Spartans have shot the ball the rest of the year.

That being said, you have to figure Michigan State is also not nearly as bad from the perimeter as it had been before the Minnesota matchup, so maybe there is a happy medium somewhere?

Akins, for example, is a lifetime 36.8 percent 3-point shooter but is connecting on just 22 percent of his long-range tries this season. Chances are, the senior will begin to move toward the mean as the campaign progresses.

And here is another silver lining: the Spartans have been managing to win games against difficult opponents in spite of their lackluster three-point efficiency.

If and when things start to creep forward, Michigan State could end up being one of the tougher teams in the Big Ten this season.

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.