EAST LANSING — The expectations are lofty, as they usually are for Tom Izzo.

He got a first glimpse in a game situation of just how the pieces might fit together for Michigan State basketball this winter.

The fourth-ranked Spartans put together a superior performance, as expected, in their exhibition opener Wednesday, rolling over Division II Hillsdale from the outset and flexing their depth in an 85-43 victory at Breslin Center.

Six players finished with nine or more points. Tyson Walker and Carson Cooper each finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Coen Carr scored 12 and Jaden Akins 10. A.J. Hoggard and Jeremy Fears Jr. combined for 16 of MSU’s 27 assists on 33 made baskets.

Izzo came away mostly pleased, but he also pointed out his team’s shortcomings of missing nine of their 20 free-throw attempts, giving up 17 offensive rebounds and some of his younger players’ lack of detail defensively.

“I told them in one huddle, this is not last year, it’s not the year before,” Izzo said. “I mean, I’m sick of finishing before April.”

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Walt Mattingly’s nine points led the Division II Chargers, who shot just 25% for the game and went just 4-for-24 from 3-point range..

Things get a lot more real Sunday, even though it technically will be the Spartans’ final exhibition game. They host No. 10 Tennessee at 3:30 p.m. (BTN) in a charity event to benefit relief efforts in Maui, with the regular-season opener set for Nov. 6 against James Madison.

“We got a lot of work to do in four days,” Izzo said. “But that’s the beauty of it. That’s the reason you do it.”

Deep group

It was clear early that Izzo has one of his deepest groups, as evidenced by a complete line change less than four minutes into Wednesday’s game.

The starting group of Hoggard, Walker, Akins, Malik Hall and Mady Sissoko came out strong and showed their cohesiveness as holdover starters throughout the game.

They opened a 12-3 lead on 3-pointers from Walker and Akins and a Hall leaner plus some staunch defense that held the Chargers to a 1-for-5 start. But perhaps the most interesting development came with Izzo deploying a full-court press immediately after Walker’s free throws opened the scoring. The Spartans have enough backcourt depth to be disruptive baseline-to-baseline, should Izzo flash it at critical moments.

“It just helps kind of wear teams down with their guards, especially if they only have one primary ball handler,” said Akins, who had three of MSU’s 11 steals. “Wearing them down in the backcourt helps our defense kind of get there and allows time to run off the shot clock, so they have less time to run their things. We’re deep, so we have people that can do it.”

MSU’s second unit included the collegiate debuts of Fears at point guard, Carr on the wing and Xavier Booker at power forward. They were matched with sophomores Tre Holloman at off-guard and Carson Cooper at center. That drew a big ovation from the 10,000-or-so fans in the stands.

They got louder quickly, with Booker stepping out and flashing his range with a quick 3-pointer after checking in, followed by another deep swish from Holloman that forced Hillsdale to call timeout. Cooper’s putback after that extended the lead to 20-3. That group played a six-minute stretch, with freshman Gehrig Normand subbing in for Booker, then Booker replacing Carr.

Izzo mixed and matched those units the rest of the half, as MSU led 47-20 at intermission. Cooper had nine points and five rebounds, Walker and Holloman each scored seven points at the break, and Fears had six assists in his 9:27 of court time.

“This was a good game in some ways, because we played a team that moved the ball real well. I thought we moved the ball real well the first half,” Izzo said. “I thought the second half, we took a couple of bad shots.”

Out of halftime, Izzo took more of a traditional approach to his rotation. He subbed Booker and Cooper together with his starting backcourt to gauge how they mesh in a competitive situation, calling two early timeouts to emphatically deliver messages for what he needed from that group.

Freshmen musings

MSU extended the lead to 60-23 on Booker’s second 3-pointer, a sign the newcomer will get a green light outside this season when the games count.

The 6-foot-11, 220-pound five-star recruit also showed his wingspan could be a problem for opposing offenses as he blocked three shots. He finished with six points and three rebounds.

Carr’s first bucket, contrary to most expectations, was a nice spinning, driving layup from the corner with a soft-touch finish that showed he’s more than just a dunker. Immediately after, the 6-5, 220-pound four-star freshman delivered a steal and — delivering what everyone wanted — a breakaway, tomahawk dunk that got the crowd roaring.

“I think shot clock was going down, so I just had to get to what I do best,” Carr said, “get to the rim and make a play for my team.”

Carr also ran the break after a big-time Sissoko block deep into the second half, taking a bounce pass from Walker and finishing acrobatically through a foul. The human pogo stick added a few more crowd-pleasing dunks — and a miss — to live up to his hype.

Fears looked winded by the end of his first stint, but he had four assists and showed the ability to create for his teammates and defend at a high level while also playing under control. He had an opportunity to throw a backdoor lob to Booker on one possession, but it would have been contested. Fears had just two points and four of the Spartans’ 11 turnovers but dished out eight assists and added a pair of steals.

“It was something I never really expected,” Fears said of the early fatigue. “You come in, the first college game, trying to play as hard as I can and do everything right. So it was just really an adjustment. But I’d say as the next few games on, I’ll adjust and I’ll be good.

“I definitely I think second half I got my second wind in. I was pretty good. Just constant and good speed and good pace the whole time.”

Forgotten men

The stars of the opening half, though, might have been the sophomores.

Cooper in particular feasted on the smaller Chargers, but he did so with quickness leaping off the floor and fleet-footed spin moves in the paint. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound big threw down a lob from Holloman and spun baseline for another two-handed jam in the first half. After halftime, Cooper’s deft footwork in the post and soft touch around the rim got him back-to-back buckets as MSU built its lead toward 40 points. He also used his height and wingspan to control the boards against Hillsdale.

“Obviously it’s an exhibition game, but you want to play it as it’s like a competitive game. And you know coach is coach, so he’s gonna force us to play at the high level at all times,” Cooper said. “So these are these games that we really got to lock in on the specifics and figure out little things that we need to get better in the future.”

Holloman, meantime, showed a confidence on offense carried over from the summer to go with continued strong defense. The 6-2, 180-pound combo guard had nine points on 4 of 5 shooting with four assists.

“Tre Holloman might have been the most steady” in the game, Izzo said. “He guarded … and he played both (guard) positions, which was really cool. If you asked me who’s been our most improved player in the year, he would be right up there.”

Hall, coming off offseason foot surgery, looked healthy and quicker laterally than he did during an injury-filled 2022-23 season. The fifth-year senior finished with four points and four rebounds.

Akins’ rebounding at times took center stage, with the junior attacking the glass throughout the game like the young Charlie Bell that Izzo has likened him to. Akins finished with six boards and made two of three attempts from 3-point range.

Sissoko looked steady, adding nine points by hitting both of his shots and making all five of his free throws. He grabbed six rebounds and blocked a shot.

Hoggard had just three points but also had eight assists and four rebounds.

Contact Chris Solari:[email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.

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