Michigan State basketball was able to survive a late push in the second half by a feisty San Jose State team to move to 3-0 on the season as they gear up to face a Kentucky team that is reeling from an early-season loss to Louisville. This was a game that looked like it would be a relatively simple blow out early, but credit to San Jose State, they were able to grind their way back and add some drama in the second half, largely through the play of Colby Garland and Yaphet Moundi.

Below, we put together three takeaways from a 19-point win for the Spartans:

1. Rebounding is elite, but the defense still needs some improvement

Michigan State continues to win the rebounding margin in the regular season despite some inconsistencies on that end during exhibition play in the preseason, but some of the defensive woes are still lingering here and there. While Colby Garland is a talented player, he got his 22 points for San Jose State a little too easily, and there were times when MSU, in the second half, was just not putting enough pressure on San Jose State defensively, letting them creep back into the game. They also sent Yapeh Moundi to the line 16 times, not a great formula for success moving forward.

2. Three-point shooting remains a concern

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Michigan State’s three-point shooting remains a concern this year, and is currently their biggest flaw as a team and what might prevent them from making a big run this season. The Spartans went 6-25 from three on the night, and remarkably, Jeremy Fears Jr. hit three of those. While that was encouraging, it’s not exactly what he’s known for, and you’d hope the Spartans can find a few more shooters on the roster capable of hitting shots. Kur Teng went 2-5, but he also leaves a little to be desired on the defensive end, at times. It’s an issue.

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As mentioned above, Kur Teng, who started the year in the starting lineup, did hit some threes for MSU off the bench. The starting shooting guard, Trey Fort, went 0-5. Both players struggled on the defensive end. Freshman Jordan Scott looked strong on defense, but his offense is probably the furthest behind of the three. Tom Izzo is clearly waiting for one of those three players to separate themselves, and as of right now, it’s still up for grabs.

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