No. 6 Michigan State lost 86-79 at Marquette in its final exhibition Sunday. The Spartans scored 48 points after halftime, enough to make the seven-point result look close. The earlier half and the reserve scoring deserve a longer look: Marquette's bench outscored Michigan State's 39-9.
The official box score shows that Marquette got 24 bench points before halftime while Michigan State got three. The Golden Eagles led 43-31 at the break. Alex Egbuonu finished with 14 points off Marquette's bench, Nolan Minessale and Ethan Johnston with nine each. Michigan State's reserve points came from Cameron Ward, Kur Teng and Carlos Medlock Jr., three apiece. That distribution matters because the Spartans' four double-figure scorers all started.
Jasiah Jervis led Michigan State with 19 points. Jordan Scott and Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 18 each, and Coen Carr had 11. Fears also recorded seven assists. Michigan State made 14 of 26 shots in the second half after making seven of 27 in the first. The starters gave the team a response. It still needed more ground than they could recover.
There is an obvious objection to focusing on bench points. Coaches can vary reserve minutes in an exhibition, and a bench total does not grade each substitution. Michigan State's reserves played meaningful minutes, though, and the scoring gap was present in both halves. It identifies a question about how much offense the Spartans can get when their main scorers sit or share the floor with younger teammates. The box cannot tell us which combinations created good shots, so it cannot settle the rotation.
The rest of the Marquette box keeps the analysis honest. Michigan State scored 33 points off turnovers to Marquette's 16 and had a 23-11 fast-break edge. It also lost the rebounding count 33-23. Marquette made nine of 18 threes and shot 57.4 percent overall. The bench gap was substantial, but it was one part of a game in which Michigan State also had to chase efficient shooting and missed chances on the glass.
CBR's report on the UConn exhibition found that Michigan State made only three of 20 threes in that loss. At Marquette, the Spartans made nine of 25. The new result gives a different question than whether the perimeter shots fall: who supplies points beyond the starting scorers? Michigan State opens the regular season against Quinnipiac on November 2, according to its game report. That game will offer another rotation, with a result that counts.
