Cam Ward powers Michigan State basketball inside to win over No. 15 Arkansas
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EAST LANSING — No. 21 Michigan State basketball dominated No. 15 Arkansas in the paint, nearly doubling up the Razorbacks on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Breslin Center en route to a 69-66 victory.
The edge inside barely made up for some rough outside shooting, repeating a trend for MSU from last season, as the Spartans hit just one of 14 from outside.
A newcomer this season, Cam Ward, led the Spartans (2-0) inside, posting a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The freshman from Maryland had 12 points in the first half on 6-for-10 shooting and added five rebounds in his first extended run, following 11 minutes in the Spartans’ opener on Monday.
MSU outscored Arkansas, 46-28, in the paint, including a 10-point edge in the first half.
Coen Carr takes Hogs for a ride
Carr opened Saturday’s game with authority, throwing down a dunk in the first minute and scoring eight of the Spartans’ first 14 points, in a multitude of ways. After the throwdown, Carr added a putback jumper off a rebound, a layup and a pair of free throws off a fastbreak. He finished the first half with 12 points (on 4-for-7 shooting), five rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes.
Carr’s drive boosted the Spartans in the paint, as they outscored the Razorbacks there, 16-8, in the first half despite shooting just 37.8% over the first 20 minutes.
Homecoming for Darius Acuff
The former Detroit Cass Tech star returned to Breslin Center for the first time since leading the Technicians to a 2003 state title as a sophomore. After spending two seasons with IMG Academy in Florida, the freshman guard showed why he’s drawing NBA draft lottery buzz by putting up 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting (including two 3-pointers on five attempts) to go with two rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes before halftime.
Issues beyond the arc
After a season in which the Spartans finished among the bottom 20% of the nation in 3-point shooting, Saturday’s first half didn’t offer much hope there. MSU missed all seven of its attempts beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes, with Jaxon Kohler missing a pair and five other Spartans each going 0-for-1. The second half started better from long distance, with the appropriately named Trey Fort making the Spartans’ first 3-point try with 16:44 remaining to give MSU a 43-42 lead.
Next up for the Spartans: the Spartans?
MSU has one more tuneup before the Champions Classic as San Jose State — yes, they’re the Spartans, too — will visit Breslin Cener on Thursday (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network). SJSU is coming off a season-opening loss to Utah on Monday in which guard Colby Garland had 21 points, four assists and three steals in 33 minutes. After the Spartan-on-Spartan matchup this week, MSU will head to Madison Square Garden in New York to face No. 9 Kentucky on Nov. 18 (6:30 p.m., ESPN).
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball powerful in paint in home win over Arkansas
