Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 88-81 loss to Duke

Lansing State Journal columnist Graham Couch gives his initial thoughts on the Spartans’ performance Tuesday against the Blue Devils in the Champions Classic.

1. Jaren Jackson Jr. could be Michigan State’s go-to guy

CHICAGO — Miles Bridges, for all he is as a basketball player, has yet to show he can get a bucket for the Spartans when they absolutely need it.

Jaren Jackson Jr. gave MSU that bucket in Tuesday night's 88-81 loss to Duke. A couple of them. None bigger than a 3-pointer from the corner with the Spartans trailing 24-14 and Duke amid a 17-2 run. After Bridges hit one, Jackson made another triple to cut the deficit to 24-23.

As Duke opened the second half quickly, Jackson hit another, tying the game, 42-42. Then, with the game getting away from MSU again at 54-44, Jackson got his own rebound, was fouled and hit two free throws. Bridges hit a 3 two possessions later and MSU was on a 10-0 run. But Jackson got it started.

The rest of the team did the runs well. Stopping the droughts — that was Jackson’s thing. 

For MSU to get what it wants out of this season, it probably needs Bridges to also become this guy, to be able to throw the ball to him and have him produce. In the first half Tuesday, Bridges had a nice drive when MSU needed points, but tried to finish cavalierly with his off hand. He hit a couple big 3s in the second half, one answering a Grayson Allen triple. That’s the next step for Bridges.

But Jackson looks capable — of creating off the rebound, in traffic in the paint, with his outside shot, and doing so when the offensive otherwise isn’t there for MSU. He had 19 points Tuesday, most of them important points. The moment or the opponent wasn’t too big for him Tuesday in Chicago.

MORE FROM THE CHAMPIONS CLASSIC:

• Couch: Michigan State needs Miles Bridges to be more like Grayson Allen
• No. 2 Michigan State 'played really, really bad and lost' to No. 1 Duke
• Duke 88, Michigan State 81: Grayson Allen, Blue Devils topple Spartans

2. MSU's problem areas — rebounding and shooting guard shooting

The Spartans’ length and depth will be enough to out-rebound many of the opponents on their schedule. But MSU lost this game in large part because it gave Duke second chances on the offensive glass — 25 of them, which turned into 17 second-chance points. A lot of these were long rebounds, bouncing over MSU’s big men. MSU’s guards will be embarrassed by some of their block-outs when they see them on film.

At some point, I think Joshua Langford and Matt McQuaid will start hitting outside shots. But MSU is going to lose more games if its two shooting guards continued to struggle shooting from long range. Langford and McQuaid were 1-for-8 from beyond the arc, though Langford, especially, did some nice things defensively and on the break offensively. This is the trouble spot offensively right now on MSU’s roster.

3. MSU has the bigs to negate foul trouble – we saw it against Duke

Michigan State’s big men picked up a total of six fouls in the first half. A year ago, that would have crippled the Spartans, leading to even more foul trouble or a lineup so small that it couldn’t compete.

Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter had two with more than 6 minutes until halftime Tuesday. It just didn’t matter. This was the first time we saw the depth of MSU’s size in action. It’s a huge advantage. It'll help MSU avoid disaster. It won't, however, push the Spartans over the top. 

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.