What: FAU vs Michigan State
When: Saturday, December 21st, 2:00 PM
Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing
Series: Michigan State leads 1-0
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: Fox 640
Live Stats: Stats broadcast
Line: N/A
FAU at a Glance
Offense – 85.9 PPG, 47% FG, 37% 3PT
Defense – 77 PPGA, 43% FGA, 37% 3PTA
Rebounding – 36 RPG Owls, 36 RPG Opponents
FAU Notes
FAU’s final game of the non-conference slate is here, as the Owls head up to East Lansing for a pivotal road matchup with the Spartans on Saturday.
The Owls have bounced back from a brief down point in the early point of their season and have rattled off 3 in a row, playing some of their best basketball of the season in the process. FAU has found a consistent way to get scoring outside of the 3 point shot, while also finding defensive consistency through limiting open looks from beyond the arc and using their size to limit teams in the paint.
They have been doing it in a variety of ways, getting big contributions from their big man unit, as Tre Carroll and Kaleb Glenn, have brought significant impact off the bench, while Baba Miller and Matas Vokietaitis have really hurt opponents with their size in the starting lineup. FAU’s guards have been equally contributing and in different ways, as Leland Walker had the 3rd most assists in FAU history with 12 against FIU, Ken Evans Jr led a defensive masterclass against Jacksonville, while Nico Moretti has had a huge scoring role off the bench, contributing 27 points over the past 3 games.
The defense has really started to come together for FAU, as they have held each of their last 3 opponents to 45% or less from beyond the arc, won the rebound battle against a top 50 rebounding team in Texas State and have been switching, rotating and communicating at a level you want to see at this point in the season. On the offensive side of things, FAU has moved away from the heavy 3 point reliance we saw early on in the season, instead attacking the basket and taking what is there with the size advantage they have against most teams and it has paid off.
The offensive success has been there this season for FAU, as overall on the year they currently are top 100 in the country in Effective FG%, least turnover percentage, non-steal turnover percentage and 3 point and 2 point percentage. If the defense can continue to improve alongside the offensive adjustments, this is a team which could really cause problems heading into conference play and against Michigan State.
The scoring diversity for FAU is still there as they have 8 players averaging 8.5 points or more per game, 3 of them coming off of the bench. Kaleb Glenn has been leading the way on the year, averaging 13.9 points per game, bringing an undeniable spark off the bench for the Owls this season. Outside of Glenn, Tre Carroll has also emerged as a key piece off of the bench, now averaging 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, being one of the top scorers in each of FAU’s past 3 games.
In this matchup, it will be important for FAU to continue their offensive diversity both in terms of different players scoring, but also finding different ways to score if their 3 pointers aren’t falling. The Owls can’t fall behind offensively in this one, as MSU will find different ways to score and an early deficit on the road will be hard to overcome, which makes it paramount that FAU finds ways to match them whether its shooting or driving to the basket.
On the defensive side of things, the Owls have the size to limit the paint from Michigan State from interior looks and the Spartans have shot only 28% from 3 this season, which means if FAU can limit their paint opportunities, their offense could be stretched thin. Outside of that, the biggest thing defensively for FAU will have to be their rebounding, as MSU looks to crash the glass consistently and a recipe for disaster for FAU would be allowing second chances.
This is a winnable matchup for FAU, as they have the size to cause problems on both ends of the court, while they are coming in playing their best basketball of the season. The key in this one will not be reverting back to old struggles and maintaining defensive consistency, while also continuing to expand their offensive weaponry, if they do both of those things they could be in a good position for an upset, however that is easier said than done against a talented MSU team.
Quotable from FAU Coach John Jakus:
Connections with MSU Coach Tom Izzo
Doug Wojcik is one of his main assistants, and we were at Gonzaga together, and Kaleb Glenn played at a school in Indiana called La Lumiere. And that’s also a place where I recruited Jeremy Sochan from and Michigan State recruits a lot from that area, obviously, and has a real success with kids from LA Lu so I went and visited there, and I saw my buddy Doug, who I shared an office with at Gonzaga, and is one of the more meaningful friendships that I’ve had in college basketball. We both landed at Gonzaga around the same time, and he was, he was really great to me. So he introduced me to Izzo. I had seen him before or met him before, but Doug, you know, got us on the same page. We just sat for three hours while we watched practice and locked in. He’s as smart and intentional and loving and thoughtful as you could possibly be, as not only a head coach, but someone who cares about the game as a whole. And I’ll say this, our game is changing constantly. In the last four years. Specifically, there’s been drastic changes with NIL and everything, and we seem to be listening to a lot of people. It just seems odd to me that we don’t listen to people like Coach Izzo a little more often. There’s something to our game in the last couple decades that has been fine, just as is, and I’m fine with the players getting paid. I’m not against the progression of that at all. I want our guys to be taken care of, but there seems to be a need for some wisdom. And I would say, as much as he’s done for that school, as much as he’s done for our sport, and as thoughtful and persistent and hard working as he’s shown himself to be for decades. I wish we would give people like Tom the loudest voice and not some others. But man does he care? And man are his kids tough, and that clearly is a program that’s reflective of him, and I’m incredibly jealous, even as I watched the film this week at how tough they are,” Jakus said.
Keys to the game for FAU:
“I watched the last five games for sure. I watched last night against Oakland. They shot 47% from two and they got 60% of their misses. They don’t even really care whether they make it or not. They’re just gonna go get it and they’re top five normally in the country, in offensive rebounding, and I imagine that’s going to stay the same this year. And then they don’t always play fast. He runs great sets, but they flip the floor after a turnover, a live ball turnover, as well as anybody you’re going to see in the country. And they’re there. They’re five men or bigs, rim run quickly. Their first three steps are really well taught, and they get out and run, and their guards are really willing to pitch ahead and then throw a Coen Carr lob dunk. And they become really athletic, really fast. So you turn the ball over there, you’re gonna be calling a timeout, and if you don’t box out, you’re gonna have a long night. And, you know, there’s all kinds of things in the middle of that. But if those two things aren’t done well, you have no chance,” Jakus said.
Defensive approach against MSU:
“That starts with their defense. We talked a little earlier about live ball turnovers. You turn it over, and Jeremy’s got the ball in his hands, and somebody is running in the lane with him, he’s going to give it up at the right time, and that’s going to be an easy assist for him. So I think it starts with their defense, and then I think you know, their ability to get easy assists, because their fives do work before they catch the basketball. Their fives are as good as anybody in the country doing work before they get the ball. And their angle baskets, easy baskets that the guards and the bigs create for each other with that assist and doing their work prior to the basketball is elite. I like to say they don’t need post moves to score because they’ve done all their footwork prior to getting the basketball. And then I just think the wings are incredibly efficient. And whether it’s Booker making a three, or Carr on a cut, or leading scorer, Jaden creating baskets. They’ve got a sense of where to get the ball at the right time, so they’re incredibly balanced. They’ve got a bunch of guys averaging over seven points. And when you have that and they seem to really love each other and not care who scores on a given night, that’s unique. It makes it really easy for the point guard to get assists, because everybody’s gonna play the right way,” Jakus said.
Game Planning to take the rim away:
“Yeah, we’re gonna have to adjust to that. There’s gonna be some things that we have in our game plan that aren’t normal necessarily, to take the rim away, but for us right now, it’d be foolish to say that a bunch of division one players can’t make threes, and the way we parted the three point line, I’m not going to overreact to the two or the three. I think we just need to keep getting better. And whether it’s at the rim or at the three point line, I think our contests matter. And then when the ball is in the air, that’s when the game is going to be won or lost. They have a real chance this year. They’re really good, and they definitely play together, but as talented as they are, it’s going to come down to the rebounding piece. So whether it’s a short shot or a long shot, we’re going to have to be in the right spot with the rebounds,” Jakus said.
MSU at a glance:
Offense – 81.8 PPG, 47% FG, 27% 3PT
Defense – 67.4 PPGA, 40% FGA, 31% 3PTA
Rebounding – 41 RPG Owls, 29 RPG Opponents
MSU Notes:
The Spartans have been off to a hot start so far this season, currently sitting at 9-2 and are riding a 4 game win streak heading into their second to last game of the non-conference slate. Their only 2 losses this season have been to Kansas and Memphis and following their loss to Memphis, the Spartans have been playing some of their best basketball of the season.
The Spartans have been a very sound team statistically, checking in top 100 in the country in offensive rebound percentage, 2 point percentage, free throw percentage and assists per field goals made. On the defensive side of things, they have also been solid statistically, top 100 in effective field goal percentage allowed, offensive rebounds allowed, 3 and 2 point percentage allowed, and block percentage.
Their struggles this season offensively have come from the 3 point arc, checking in with the 338th worst 3 point percentage in the country at 27.8%, which in their losses this season has been their achilles heel. On the defensive side of things, they have been really strong however their one down spot has been their inability to force turnovers, currently 221st in the country with a steal percentage of 16.8%, while their steal percentage is 293rd, at only 8.1%.
Overall on the year, MSU has been very similar in terms of diverse scoring, seeing 9 players averaging 7 points or more and on any given night the Spartans have someone different who could hurt FAU. Their leading scorer is 6’4 G Jaden Atkins who has averaged 13.3 points per game, while Jase Richardson is behind him averaging 10 points per game.
In this matchup against FAU, MSU has the scoring to match FAU’s high octane offense, however they also have the defense to limit FAU, which is what could potentially be the difference in this one. If the Spartans are able to slow down FAU offensively, while also getting their normal offensive output and potentially an increased 3 point percentage, that would put them in a good position to defend their home court.