3&Out: Match-ups be damned, Michigan State grits out heroic win at Penn State

A well-rested, guard-heavy Penn State ballclub with several effective perimeter scorers should have been Kryptonite for a leg-weary Michigan State team playing its 10^th game in 30 days. Somehow, it wasn’t as Michigan State gritted out a 67-58 program victory over the Nittany Lions on a career night for junior point guard AJ Hoggard.

Hoggard scored 23 points for Michigan State, which broke a two-game losing streak with the victory on Wednesday night in State College, Pa. After this unexpected road win, the Spartans now return home with momentum ahead of a light holiday schedule that will give them much-needed practice time.

“The was a gut-check game for our guys,” Tom Izzo said afterward, “so we are going to enjoy the flight back. That was a win for the Mateen Cleaves and Antonio Smith era. We toughed it out mentally and physically.”

Continue reading for a basketball 3&OUT from Michigan State’s victory at Penn State.

THREE OBSERVATIONS

1. Hoggard stepped up for Michigan State when it mattered

Penn State led for most of the first half and would have taken a lead into halftime if Hoggard had not stepped up on both ends of the floor. Hoggard led Michigan State in scoring in the first half with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, and he played solid on-ball defense in a difficult match-up against Penn State point guard Jalen Pickett, one of the best players in the Big Ten.

Hoggard scored some big buckets in the second half, but the yeoman’s work he did before halftime kept Michigan State in this game for the duration. This was a career game for Hoggard, a Coatesville, Pa. native, and he couldn’t have scripted it better with so many members of his family present at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Michigan State needed everything it got from Hoggard on the offensive end because the Nittany Lions did a good job of taking away the 3-point line from both Joey Hauser and Tyson Walker. The Spartans made a nice halftime adjustment that gave Walker a couple of open jumpers on in-bound plays, but Hoggard was the most effective scorer for the Spartans on a night where he needed to be. Walker hit a couple of big shots, but fatigue was apparent throughout this game, as it has been for the past three games.

Hoggard hit threes, he hit pull-up jumpers, he knocked down free throws. He put Michigan State on his back and carried the Spartans to an unlikely road victory, in a game that Hoggard and his teammates will never get the credit they’re due given the circumstances.

2. Jaxon Kohler made progress

Players with foot-quickness issues are aren’t going to fare well against a guard-heavy team like Penn State unless they give as well as they get. Kohler gave up a lot against a well-spaced Penn State team that forces a traditional center to defend on the perimeter. To his credit, Kohler gave as much as he got.

Kohler finished with six points in 13 minutes. He didn’t notch a rebound, but he competed, and did his part to keep this game close. After missing his first shot, Kohler knocked down three of his next four in the opening half. More importantly, the freshman gave the effort and hustle necessary to get the job done while Mady Sissoko was sidelined by two fouls for a good chunk of the first half.

Penn State does not have a much in the way of rim protection or an inside scoring presence, and Kohler did a nice job of a getting good position on the block and going to work with room to operate. When Penn State hinted at the double team or Kohler felt like he didn’t have a path to the basket, he effectively kicked the ball back outside to perimeter players and re-posted. On one such play, Jaden Akins was able to knock down an inside-out three to bring Michigan State within a point of Penn State, 25-24, with 4:57 remaining in the first half.

The goodwill that Kohler earned from that inside-out pass to Akins was thrown away a short while later when he was late getting down the floor and even later closing out on a corner three by Camryn Winter. Kohler also drew the ire from his head coach by failing to make himself available to Hoggard on in-bound pass that drew a five-second call.

Kohler played just two minutes in the second half, as Michigan State was able to keep Mady Sissoko in the game and out of foul trouble. Late in the game, the Spartans opted to play with Joey Hauser at the five as a counter to Penn State’s guard-heavy lineup. Michigan State was rewarded by that move.

If Kohler, however, had not played as well as he did in the first half it is unlikely that Michigan State would have gotten much mileage out of its small lineup of Hauser, Walker, Hoggard, Pierre Brooks, and Akins.

Kohler showed willpower and made progress. His performance was far from perfect, but he played as well as Michigan State needed him to come away with a victory. This is a game that Kohler can grow from, and should give him a boost going into a stretch where he will get much-needed practice time.

3. Hauser was unsung hero for Michigan State

This was not a favorable match-up for Hauser, who delivered a 12-point, 15-rebound performance in 35 relatively foul-free minutes.

Guard-heavy teams have long been problematic for Hauser, but carrying 10 fewer pounds than he did a year ago, he found a way to stay in this game and not only help Michigan State remain competitive, but grit out an unlikely victory.

Penn State tried to drive Hauser early, and he moved his feet better than anybody his size without great athleticism should be able to move when they’ve play 10 games in 30 days with as much travel as Michigan State has logged. Penn State also tried to drive Hauser late in the game, trailing by a bucket with less than five minutes remaining. Shockingly, Hauser moved his feet deftly once again and turned Pickett back at the rim. Down the stretch, with this game hanging in the balance, Michigan State moved Hauser to the five against a Penn State team without an experienced center, and Hauser made the plays necessary to win.

Playing Hauser at the five was a card that the Spartans had available to them because Hauser did a better job than anyone could have expected of staying out of foul trouble.

Hauser has taken a lot of grief from Michigan State fans during his time in the program. His consistency under difficult circumstances during the six games that Malik Hall has missed due to injury while playing far too many minutes has been spectacular. Hauser played with impressive mental toughness against Penn State.

Last time out against Northwestern, and in this game against Penn State, Hauser has managed to contribute as a scorer without good looks from three. That’s big-time progress for Hauser. On top of that, Hauser has carried more water as a rebounder than I would have expected. Michigan State needs that from Hauser until Hall returns from injury. And when Hall returns, Michigan State might really have something.