Michigan State Basketball Survives FGCU After Clock Error
Harris stars, but free throw woes nearly bury Spartans
Head coach Tom Izzo was probably unhappy that the game was close enough to come down to a clock error, saying after the game “we’re just playing sissy ball right now” and expressing frustration at how “soft” his team played.
Michigan State Spartans
Izzo was likely referring to the Spartans’ lackluster performance in the paint, where they were outscored 40-22 by the Eagles while being out-rebounded 41-29 in the game. Perhaps the biggest problem for Michigan State, however, is their continued inability to make free throws. They entered the game shooting only 50% from the line in their first three games and made only 19 off 33 free throw attempts (57.6%) on Sunday.
Senior Eron Harris had a career night, scoring a game-high 31 points and making all six of his three-point attempts, but his efforts will likely be dampened by his 5/10 shooting from the free throw line, including two critical misses in the final seconds that could have given the Spartans a much-needed cushion at the end of the game.
Miles Bridges was the only other Spartan to score in double-digits, scoring 13 points and leading Michigan State with seven rebounds and three blocks. Lourawls Nairn Jr. led Michigan State with seven assists. Josh Langford dressed and played after suffering a hamstring injury on Friday in the win over Mississippi Valley State. Izzo was called for a technical foul in the first half after disagreeing with the official regarding what he considered to be a missed traveling call.
Antravious Simmons and Brandon Goodwin led the Eagles with 18 points apiece, Simmons adding 12 rebounds. Christian Terrell led Florida Gulf Coast with seven assists and four steals. RaySean Scott Jr. came off the bench and contributed 14 points.
| Score | FG | 3P | FT | OR/DR | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FLS | |
| FGCU | 77 | 29/63 | 8/17 | 11/17 | 14/27 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 28 |
| MSU | 78 | 25/49 | 9/17 | 19/33 | 6/23 | 21 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 18 |
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Up Next
Michigan State will head to the Bahamas for the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis against the St. Johns Red Storm (2-1) on Wednesday at 7:00 on axsTV.