MSU basketball beats North Carolina in OT on Maui: 3 quick takes

1. This was a huge win for MSU in more ways than one

LAHAINA, Hawaii – The Michigan State men’s basketball team had a look on Wednesday that I hadn’t seen at any other game this year. A determination for her. They wouldn’t leave Maui without beating North Carolina. Or at least not without providing the best possible wire-to-wire fight.

It seems like they fully understand that if you want to be taken seriously, you have to win some of these games.

Despite the shaky final minutes of regulation (and parts of overtime), this 94-91 overtime win in the Maui Invitational final was a performance by MSU, which played better without arguably its best player yet: Freshman Jase Richardson, who missed the game after suffering an elbow to the head in the Spartans’ loss to Memphis on Tuesday. And without Richardson, MSU played its best game of the season almost throughout.

The reason: Almost everyone else stepped up their game – from junior guard Tre Holloman, who replaced Frankie Fidler in the starting lineup and couldn’t miss in the first half and made big free throws late, to Xavier Booker, who rewrote the script for his season (and maybe career) on Wednesday, and Coen Carr, who rebounded and attacked with a game-changing ferocity, and Jaden Akins, who was really good for a while, and Jeremy Fears Jr., who pushed the Spartans forward and made a ton of free throws (and a massive defensive error late), and Fidler, coming off the bench for the first time, made steady, important plays throughout.

This was an incredible game to watch. And the kind of game the Spartans have often lost in recent years. They almost lost that game, blowing a 79-71 lead because they failed to make a field goal in the final four minutes of regulation.

They need to work on finding the offense down the stretch – Richardson will help with that. But also give MSU credit. When North Carolina sent this thing into overtime and the Spartans visibly lost their composure in the final minute, I thought there was no way they were going to pull this off. They were tough in overtime until the final long pass, leading by three, when Carr dove through two North Carolina players to collect the ball and nearly end the game.

MSU shot 54% and scored 50 points in the game – including 14 from Carr and 12 from Booker – taking advantage of a North Carolina team with some defensive deficiencies. But this is still North Carolina and the Tar Heels still have significant firepower and shooting ability in the backfield.

So did MSU on Wednesday, with Holloman scoring 19 points and hitting three 3s – all in the first half – and Akins scoring 14 points and playing well until the final minute, and Fidler and Fears 13 each.

“They beat us in the (NCAA) tournament last year, so we tried to come out fast and strong because we still had the bad taste in our mouths from last year,” Holoman said. “We just had something to prove.”

This was a huge win in more ways than one – what it means for Booker’s season, for Holloman, who was struggling, for Fidler, for their collective confidence and for their non-conference resume.

The way they started and played for so long – and the way they persevered – should help them.

“This was a big win for us,” said Tom Izzo.

2. Xavier Booker, holy smokes

Depending on how Xavier Booker’s season and career continues, this could be remembered as a turning point. Booker was outstanding in the second half and overtime (more in a full column here).

He was the catalyst for MSU at a critical time when the Spartans were starting to falter a bit. Booker scored six points in less than a minute midway through the second half as the Spartans rebuilt a small lead. It wasn’t just that he scored. That’s how he scored – with the aggressiveness in the paint, which didn’t come naturally to him. It was also about how he influenced the game on the glass and how he switched shots defensively.

He finished the game with 12 points, seven rebounds and a block, and his best moments came in the second half and postgame. He wanted the ball in the post. His teammates wanted him to have the ball. And they were very happy for him.

One of the best signs of this team and these scenes on Wednesday was when he left the game after that impressive period – his teammates were so happy for him. He came back and was a focal point in MSU’s final lineup in regulation time and overtime. That says everything about how well he played.

RELATED: Couch: Xavier Booker’s breakout game was rooted in studying film in Maui and ultimately getting fed up

3. A good game for Frankie Fidler at a big point

The use of Tre Holloman proved to be absolutely the right move on Tuesday. MSU needed more in the first few minutes of games than Frankie Fidler gave them. I don’t know if it makes sense to move Fidler back to the starting lineup considering he wasn’t in the starting lineup on Wednesday and Jase Richardson is on this team off the bench. If there is another move, one would think it would be Richardson entering the lineup.

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MSU basketball beats North Carolina in OT on Maui: 3 quick takes

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