Michigan State announced itself as title contender with win vs Duke

CHICAGO – Tom Izzo hasn't won too many of these games lately, against top-five teams at neutral sites. He hasn't beaten Duke much either.

He's got a team to do that this season, a team that'll be able to stick with anyone, anywhere, and that's the first time he's had that in a while, at least since his last Final Four run, which happened some seven years ago.

His Michigan State Spartans beat the Duke Blue Devils in the Champions Classic, 79-73, Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the United Center, and announced itself as a title contender.

It's early, yes, and maybe the Blue Devils – ranked No. 2 in the preseason – will turn out to be something less than their size and talent suggests, though they blew out Tennessee in an exhibition and knocked off Kansas ... at Kansas.

That's no perfect indicator, obviously. And MSU has some things to figure out, most notably the center spot.

But, boy, does this team have some pieces, some depth, and some toughness. More than that, they've got some dudes, young dudes, experienced dudes, shot creators, shot stoppers. It starts with Jeremy Fears Jr., who scored 18, had 11 assists and controlled the pace and flow.

It also starts with Jordan Scott, who looked like a college version of the Detroit Pistons' Ausar Thompson, who guarded everyone, everywhere, and finished with six blocks and had the most important bucket of the game when the Blue Devils cut MSU's 13-point lead to five with a few minutes to go.

Scott played good defense a year ago, but nothing like this, and his suffocating performance was a revelation. Though it wasn't just him.

THE GAME STORY: Tom Izzo gets Duke revenge as Michigan State wins in Champions Classic

For much of the game, the Spartans played connected and in concert, forcing shot clock violations, airballs, turnovers, and sagging shoulders. Izzo hasn't had a team defend on a string like this so early in a season in a while.

The rotations. The closeouts. The discipline underneath on ball fakes. They were moving their feet, sliding their feet, keeping their hands up, closing gaps, anticipating.

It nearly led him to tears when he walked off the court at halftime. And who could blame him?

Yes, he'll have some decisions to make as his team moves through the nonconference portion of its schedule. Izzo may have built his program on rebounding and defense, but he's also built it on development and tinkering, and on playing difficult schedules because they are more revealing.

Clearly, an 11-man rotation is not sustainable into March, and as the Spartans make their way through the winter, that number will fluctuate and will eventually come down. If nothing else, the minutes distribution should change.

Freshman center Ethan Taylor, for example, looked hesitant and lost in moments, but also flashed soft hands and competitive spirit. Already, he's built for the Big Ten, and when the conference games roll around, he'll have a chance to forge a larger role.

Freshman shooting guard, Jasiah Jervis is the kind of self-creating, bucket-getting wing Izzo's sought for years. He did not look hesitant – in any way.

His first shot came off a catch and pump fake, an easy rise for a long two. His next came after another catch and pump fake, this time followed with a dribble to the side to set himself beyond the arc.

He hit another down the stretch in the second half when the Blue Devils were threatening a bit, and he created space with his dribble and hit a step-back from the right wing.

Between Jervis and Fears and Scott and, who knows, maybe even Carlos Medlock Jr., another freshman, and another guard who can get and create a shot, Izzo's got a handful of run stoppers ... and run starters.

Duke finally got rolling offensively midway through the second half, largely by getting into the paint and kicking out to the wing for open 3's; a series of offensive rebounds helped them, too.

They went on a 5-0 run but never got the Spartans' lead below nine because someone in green kept making a play.

It was Fears into the lane for a high-arching kiss off the glass and Medlock with a couple of off-the-bounce pullup 3-pointers and a smooth jumper from Coen Carr, who sat most of the first half with two fouls and who willingly moved to power forward, despite his relative lack of size at that position – 6-feet-6 – so Izzo could start Fears, Scott and Jervis on the wing.

The trio is the kind of combo that can drive a run in March. So is this roster. The pieces are there.

The win over Duke showed the possibility.

Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.