Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State's 63-54 win over Maryland, a bruising and exhausting experience

1. The Spartans showed they have some things going for them: Grit, a star, and they won't play scared

EAST LANSING – The Terrapins are a certified pain in the butt to play against. There are better teams in the Big Ten. But I don’t know that there are any — outside of Purdue — that are less enjoyable to face.

They’re physical, disciplined defensively, determined on the glass and with just enough offensive punch from a few guys to let their other attributes work for them. If they had another shooter, they'd be a contender.

“They definitely have a physical factor. And it's kind of irritating,” Malik Hall said. “But I mean, that's what they're really good at. That's why they're the best in defense in the Big Ten.”

And so that makes beating them a good win and sweeping them even better. Two games you’re glad to have in the rear-view mirror. Saturday’s 63-54 MSU win over Maryland at Breslin Center — two weeks after a 61-59 win in College Park — was bruising and exhausting. You could see it on the players’ faces, how heavy they were breathing and in the Spartans’ reaction to the win. It was about outlasting your opponent and not giving into hard possessions on both ends, one after another all evening.

“Just got to figure out ways to win a game, how to get a big rebound, how to get a big stop,” Tyson Walker said.

"I was tired," Hall said.

It was also a matchup where we see some of the areas that make the Spartans a pain to deal with.

MSU has its shortcomings, but it has some answers, too. In a game like this, when the opposing defense makes rebounding and running difficult and offensive rhythm impossible to find, MSU has one of the better one-on-one playmakers in the country in Walker as a counter. As frustrating as every offensive rebound Maryland hauls in can be for MSU’s players and fans, think about it from the other side of things: You stymie MSU’s offense, often making it look as clunky as it was in November, only for Walker to make something happen — on the drive or getting free for an outside shot — bailing the Spartans out. That’s a matchup advantage a lot of teams don’t have. Not at his level or consistency. He finished with 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. He did a lot of his work in the first half when MSU had nothing else going.

Another attribute on display: The Spartans don’t wither on possessions when something goes wrong — like giving up an offensive rebound. No team highlights MSU’s deficiencies on the offensive glass more than Maryland. But the Terrapins’ 12 offensive rebounds only resulted in six second-chance points Saturday (four before the final minute). MSU’s players don’t stop defending. That’s a form of resiliency and grit that not every team has in those situations. That’s how they held the Terrapins to 17-for-55 shooting (31%). That’s largely why they won, why they survived.

We’ve seen this MSU team not be rattled when the game gets tense in the second half. They responded well again Saturday, after Jahmir Young’s driving layup gave the Terrapins a 42-41 lead with a little more than 7 minutes remaining.

MSU immediately got a quality shot — an A.J. Hoggard pick-and-roll alley-oop pass to Mady Sissoko for a dunk. Hoggard put the ball where Sissoko could catch it easily and Sissoko finished it. On the other end, Sissoko grabbed a rebound in traffic and hung onto it. Then Hall drew a foul in the post. After Hall missed the free throws, MSU came up with the rebound, Hall got to the line again and made them this time.

Then, after a pair of Maryland free throws, Hall buried an open 3. Then scored again the next time down, an old-fashioned 3-point play, drawing Donta Scott’s fourth foul. Hall was terrific in the second half, scoring 14 of his 19 points. He showed up repeatedly on important possessions down the stretch.

Seconds later, Hoggard swiped a Maryland pass and took it in for a layup. Suddenly it was 53-44 MSU. Right after it was 42-41 Maryland.

It’s in those times when a lot of teams wobble. This group has shown for some time it doesn’t.

There are a lot of tense second halves ahead for this MSU team (14-8 overall, 6-5 Big Ten), some eventually that’ll perhaps decide whether the season continues. Whatever happens, it’s clear this group won’t play scared in those situations.

2. MSU did a good job of not letting rebounding be its downfall

There was a point fairly early in the first half when Maryland already had six offensive rebounds and it seemed like the Terrapins might get a second look on every possession. They only had five more the rest of the game — despite a lot of chances, given that they missed 38 shots — and, after MSU was out-rebounded 37-22 two weeks earlier in this same matchup, the Spartans actually out-rebounded Maryland 36-30 on Saturday, including 12 offensive rebounds of their own. That led to 11 second-chance points. MSU not only didn’t lose this game on the glass, it won in no small part because of its determination in an area that’s been a weakness this season.

3. Freshman thoughts (or lack thereof) – the Maryland (second) edition

Coen Carr tied a season-low with six minutes. The only other time he’s played so little was last month at Illinois. Xavier Booker didn’t play a minute.

This game was evidence that, when the grind gets tough, with the matchup this physical, with the game in this much in doubt, Tom Izzo’s rotation is veteran-laden and really seven deep right now, with Carr and Jaxon Kohler on the fringes, as Nos. 8 and 9.

Izzo said earlier this week that Carr’s defense and rebounding need to improve for him to be able count on him. Carr right now is a more spectacular player on both ends than he is a sound player on either end. He gave up a couple looks Saturday that I’m sure the coaching staff saw. He’s still a big part of the rest of the season — and I think his growth is important to the Spartans' chances of raising their ceiling. This wasn’t a game to mess with growing pains. Hence you didn’t see Booker at all. I think anyone who watched how this one played out — how physical it was, how much every possession mattered — understands why.

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

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State basketball beat Maryland: 3 quick takes on MSU's win