CHICAGO — Duke has so often been the litmus test for Michigan State, the bar even the best editions of the Spartans cannot clear. Last December, in East Lansing. Champions Classics. ACC-Big Ten Challenge meetings. Going into Tuesday night, Tom Izzo was 1-12 against Duke in November and December, the lone victory coming in an empty Cameron Indoor Stadium post-COVID.
The early season ambition of many Michigan State teams has been cast upon these blue-painted rocks, even if there was occasionally revenge to be had in March. So while it is always an occupational hazard to imbue the third game of the season with too much import, Tuesday night’s 79-73 win over the Blue Devils — Michigan State’s first-ever over Duke in the Champions Classic — certainly stood out for its novelty, if nothing else.
“They’ve beaten us like a drum,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “Now, the last four or five times, we’ve kind of gained momentum because all those people are saying that so that pisses me off and maybe I’ve done a better job.”
But there was plenty else worth noting, and not just how Michigan State pushed around a (mostly) younger Duke team right off the hop. The Spartans often have an experience edge on Duke in these matchups, only to be undone by raw talent. That’s what happened last year, when Cameron Boozer single-handedly dragged Duke to a win at the Breslin Center.
What happened Tuesday was a victory of both collective talent and individual brilliance. Jeremy Fears Jr., who was held without a field goal in the loss to Duke a year ago, controlled the game at both ends of the floor, with 18 points and 11 assists, getting to the free-throw line 17 times. And yet it was hard to argue he had a bigger impact on the game than Jordan Scott, who went 2 of 7 from the floor but was a defensive dynamo with 6 blocks, 2 steals and 9 rebounds.
“You see it every game,” Fears said. “Jordan is the X factor on defense. He had six blocks tonight and he’s just everywhere all the time. It’s a luxury to have him on our team especially when he can be that guy for us.
It was exactly the kind of performance Duke coach Jon Scheyer would have liked to see from his team. Anyone on his team.
“Coming in, I thought Scott was their second-best player,” Scheyer said. “He didn’t even have that good of a scoring night. Nine rebounds, six blocks, he just impacts winning. He really impacts winning. His size on the perimeter, that’s usually what we have. It really bothered us.”
And on down the list. Cam Ward, who had struggled to start the year, had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Coen Carr and Anton Bonke played through foul trouble. Where Duke’s roster beyond John Blackwell struggled to have any impact on the game — star freshman Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje looked as young as his 17 years, swallowed up by the physicality, but Duke’s older guards were equally ineffective — just about everyone in green found a way to get involved.
“From the jump, those guys impacted winning at a high level,” said Duke guard John Blackwell, who was 4-1 against Michigan State at Wisconsin. “We knew coming in, those guys were not scorers. Those are guys that just make winning plays. We didn’t do a great job in eliminating that.”
It’s too early to draw sweeping conclusions from any one game, but there are a couple that suggest themselves here. Duke does not appear to be as precocious as Scheyer’s previous teams were at this point in the season; there’s probably more work to be done than he’s used to facing.
And as good as Fears is, and he was every bit as good as advertised Tuesday night, this Michigan State team may have more ways to beat you than usual. The how — defend, rebound, run — isn’t any different. But how many ways the Spartans can do it might be.
“I think this is a great example of how we can be for the rest of the season,” Ward said.
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