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Malik Monk's shooting barrage helps Kentucky rout Michigan State
Before his team’s clash with second-ranked Kentucky on Tuesday night, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo instructed the Spartans to pack in their defense, cut off all driving lanes and force the Wildcats to win with jump shots.
Malik Monk made Michigan State regret that strategy.
The streak-shooting freshman led Kentucky to a convincing 69-48 victory with a barrage of deep 3-pointers. Twenty-one of Monk’s game-high 23 points came from behind the arc including a trio of 3-pointers in the game’s opening seven minutes that helped the Wildcats seize control from the outset.
Most of Monk’s 3-pointers came via catch-and-shoot opportunities from all sorts of spots on the floor. Only once did Monk force a 3-pointer the whole night, a dribble pull-up heat check midway through the first half that went halfway down and came out.
Torrid shooting and savvy shot selection from Monk on a big stage at Madison Square Garden bodes well for Kentucky’s longterm outlook.
Outside shooting is supposed to be the biggest weakness for a Wildcats team loaded with slashing guards, long-armed swingmen and massive 7-footers. Every Kentucky player besides Monk is shooting a combined 6-for-32 from behind the arc this season.
More shooting displays like Tuesday night could also help solidify Monk as a lottery pick in next June’s NBA draft. Attacking the rim off the dribble has long been a strength of Monk’s, but scouts entered the season with concerns about a 6-foot-3 scoring guard with a jump shot that could kindly be labeled erratic.
While Monk’s shooting was the most important development for Kentucky on Tuesday night, it certainly wasn’t the only reason the Wildcats easily dispatched of a Spartans team hampered by a long travel week and a rash of frontcourt injuries. Kentucky’s stifling defense was also a big factor in an eight-point game at halftime quickly evolving into a rout.
Fierce ball pressure from guards DeAaron Fox and Isaiah Briscoe contributed to Michigan State turning the ball over 20 times. Nine of those were from prized freshman Miles Bridges, who scored only six points on 2-for-11 shooting and often tried to do too much to compensate for the Spartans’ lack of other options.
Eron Harris was a ghost. Matt McQuaid never caught fire from behind the arc. Freshman point guard Cassius Winston and forward Nick Ward had a few nice moments, however, no Spartans scored more than nine points.
All the turnovers and missed jump shots from Michigan State only fueled Kentucky’s lethal transition attack. Many of Briscoe’s 21 points and Fox’s 12 points came when they were able to attack off the dribble on run-outs.
While Kentucky improves to 3-0 after surviving its first litmus test, Michigan State finds itself in a dangerous spot because of its loaded November schedule. The Spartans (0-2) have already lost to Arizona and Kentucky and still have a road game at Duke and the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament left before the calendar turns to December and the schedule softens.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
