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Michigan State Basketball: 3 things we learned from Minnesota win

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:15 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Connor Muldowney/FanSided via Spartan Avenue

Taking down Minnesota for the second time in five games, Michigan State basketball proved itself as a Big Ten contender.

After another defeat of a talented Minnesota team, Michigan State has proven that it belongs in the Big Ten title conversation. With the win on Wednesday night over the No. 24 Golden Gophers, the Spartans improve to 12-6 on the season and 4-1 in conference action.

This was only Minnesota’s third loss overall and Michigan State has been responsible for two of those. The Gophers didn’t stand much of a chance from the get-go, falling behind by seven within the first couple of minutes and then 22 by halftime.

Tom Izzo had to be happy with his team’s performance early on as it was probably the best half of basketball the Spartans have played this season. Shots were falling, defense was great and the rebounding was aggressive. It also helped that Minnesota couldn’t hit water if it fell out of a boat.

Here’s what we learned from the 65-47 victory on Wednesday.

1. The defense can be stifling, if it wants to

Where has this defense been all season? Sure, Minnesota missed a ton of shots, but it was because the Spartans weren’t giving up easy looks. The Gophers were forced to take bad shots and that led to their 33 percent field goal shooting. If Michigan State can play defense like that for the rest of the season, the NCAA Tournament will have a No. 5 seed, or higher, waiting for it.

2. Rebounding was a strength — finally

After looking outmatched against Penn State on Saturday, I should have known Izzo was going to prioritize rebounding in practice. Well, he did just that and the Spartans’ performance reflected it as they finished on top of the rebounding battle, 42-29. Minnesota is one of the more athletic teams in the conference and the Spartans crashed the glass like it was nothing. Rebounding was one of the strengths, but they better hope it stays that way.

3. Miles Bridges looked like himself

It didn’t take long to realize that Miles Bridges was healthier and he felt more comfortable in the lineup. He started the game off with a huge dunk and then followed it up by a pretty reverse layup. The freshman scored 16 points in the first and, and was held without a point in the second, and added six rebounds and four blocks. Izzo said he was at 70 percent, so it’s hard to imagine how scary he’ll be at 100 percent.

Side note: Josh Langford also looked like the McDonald’s All-American we expected coming in. He has been a quiet contributor for most of the year, but he looked great on Wednesday, scoring 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting.

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