Michigan State Basketball: Takeaways from Spartans' Opening Games

Despite being only two games into the season, there is plenty to take away from Michigan State's opening games.

MSU won its first matchup of the season against Navy 64-59 and was upended by Duke 81-71 on Tuesday night.

Evidently, there are positives and negatives. Individual players have stood out, while others have faltered.  But collectively, the Spartans are off to a pretty solid start, despite barely surviving against a lesser-talented Midshipmen team.

Playing a perennially dominant program this early in the season usually shows a lot about a team. Now, with over a month to go until official Big Ten play begins, let's reflect on where MSU stands after its first two games.

Trice Is Poised for a Big Year

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Travis Trice has been Michigan State's best player thus far. He's averaging 20 points per game on 54 percent shooting from beyond the arc along with 6.5 assists and 5.5 rebounds.

Maintaining those averages is almost impossible, but his brilliance through the first two contests shouldn't be discounted.

Trice looks much more comfortable and assertive this year. Whether it be running the point or playing the 2-guard position alongside the impressive Lourawls Nairn, Trice has played much more confidently in his senior campaign.

Perhaps the most noticeable areas of improvement have been his penetration and quickness. For each of the last three seasons, over half of his shots have been three-pointers. He is naturally thin and feeble compared to the big men from the Big Ten who live in the paint. Also, Trice's accuracy from long distance has warranted his reliance on the jumper.

However, this season Trice has driven into the lane frequently. He has created wide-open shots and layups for his teammates and himself. The senior point guard looks much quicker and didn't even have many issues with blowing by Duke's guards.

But he hasn't just produced points: Trice has taken care of the ball well, recording only two turnovers in 68 minutes of play so far.

Trice, a co-captain of the team, looks like the team's most improved player through two games. If he continues to attack aggressively and run the show for a team that lost more than half of its scoring from last season, he could emerge as one of the best point guards in the Big Ten.

Costello and Schilling Still Need to Grow

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The most glaring concern for the Spartans entering the season was their inexperience at center. Prior to this season, Matt Costello and Gavin Schilling have taken back seats to Adreian Payne, understandably.

Costello has shown potential based on last season. Then he was diagnosed with mononucleosis and was forced to sit out several games, halting his momentum. Schilling, on the other hand, played sparingly all season.

Both players have the size and potential, but thus far neither has impressed.

Costello registered four fouls in the Navy game and managed a pedestrian six points on seven rebounds. His scoring average probably won't be much higher than that output, even if he does improve, thanks to all the scoring options around him.

However, the Duke game is where he and Schilling were partially exposed. They inherited the task of defending Jahlil Okafor, ESPN's No. 1 ranked recruit in the Class of 2014.

Not the easiest task.

Okafor had his way with Costello to start, scoring a quick eight points in the first few minutes of the game. The freshman sensation finished with 18 points and completely dominated the paint whenever he was given the ball. There were a couple of instances when the Spartans collectively struggled with ball screens and back cuts, so it wasn't all just Costello's and Schilling's fault.

Overall, the duo of MSU centers didn't defend too poorly. Aside from the opening minutes of the game, Okafor was held in check for the most part.

Offensively, Costello and Schilling didn't provide much production. They primarily served as screeners and occasionally finished layups, but neither has seemed to improve or expand his offensive game so far.

Two games isn't a large enough sample size to conclude just how much either player has improved in the offseason, but early signs haven't been encouraging.

MSU needs production from this spot if it wants to compete with the national powers this season.

Nairn Is a Huge Asset

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Freshman backup point guard Lourawls "Tum-Tum" Nairn was renowned for his exceptional quickness and passion coming into MSU. In the first couple of games, everyone can see that.

It won't show in the stat sheet, but he played very well against a talented Duke team. Throughout much of the first half, State struggled to run its sets effectively, leaving some of the responsibility to make plays on the guards controlling the ball.

Nairn continued making plays with the ball in his hands. He got the offense functioning much more smoothly coming off the bench and penetrated the lane when he saw the right opportunities.

He shows distinct poise for someone his age. Nairn seemed to have no issue with entering the game and running the show against some of the top talent in the country.

And "Tum-Tum" is taking care of the ball, too: His assist-to-turnover ratio is at 2-to-1, and he's averaging about six assists per 40 minutes.

If Bryn Forbes struggles at the 2-guard slot and Nairn continues to play well, don't be surprised to see coach Tom Izzo eventually move Trice to the shooting guard position and Nairn to the point to start contests. That's a small backcourt, but the quickness and playmaking potential are present.

He defends well and personifies the grittiness that Izzo loves in his point guards. As the season progresses, Nairn will become more and more important to this team.

Size Might Be an Issue

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MSU's lineup isn't very big, especially at the guard spots. Travis Trice is 6'0", Bryn Forbes is 6'3" and Lourawls Nairn stands at 5'10". Those are the team's primary players at the point guard and shooting guard positions.

Additionally, Branden Dawson is the team's starting power forward and stands at 6'6". Against Duke, it seemed as if Duke was pushing MSU's offensive outside the paint and that it was difficult for Sparty to compete physically.

Tom Izzo always finds ways to compensate for something that is lacking, but it will be difficult to overcome the size disadvantage if MSU runs into teams like Kentucky and Duke or when it plays Wisconsin.

MSU actually won the rebounding battle, but some of that can be attributed to Duke's accuracy from the floor. It shot 54 percent.

This Michigan State team just isn't going to overpower teams. Duke exposed its lack of size, and unless MSU makes most of its open looks, it will have a difficult time in similar games in the future.

It does help that Izzo is on the sidelines, however.

Classic Izzo Team

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This squad appears to have the makings of a classic Tom Izzo team.

It isn't overly talented, but it has the components necessary to compete with the top teams in the country as well as fantastic leadership and continuity.

There was a play in the first half of the Duke game when Bryn Forbes hit a three to cut Duke's lead to three points. That play galvanized the entire team. Everyone on the bench sprung up, and the MSU players on the court were all playing passionate, team basketball.

Those types of characteristics have helped cement the legends of Draymond Green, Mateen Cleaves and Magic Johnson. They're some of the most talented players in MSU history, but their charismatic personalities and passion drove their performances.

Izzo's 2014-15 team has better leadership than last season. It has already proven it can compete with a top team, and as the season progresses MSU will band together even more.