If you were not aware, Friday, the Michigan State men’s basketball team had a game. Michigan State continued its exhibition excellence against St. Cloud State with a 101-46 victory.

Junior guard Denzel Valentine finished the night with a triple double, while his point guard counterpart Travis Trice finished with a team-high 20 points, including a 4-8 stat from beyond the arc.

The most promising part of this win though was the play in the low post from Matt Costello and Gavin Schilling. The two of them combined for 27 points and 15 rebounds. MSU’s center and power forward positions will be under a microscope this coming season, and it is good to see that Schilling and Costello seem to be approaching season form.

This victory must be taken with a grain of reality as well though, as the level of competition the Spartans face this year is daunting.

The team begins the regular season this coming Friday against Navy in Annapolis, Maryland. It will be a good gut check for the team, as the early season schedule is laced with a looming showdown against Duke in the Champions Classic four days later.

Izzo must have his front court ready to play ball, as they go up against highly touted freshman center, Jahlil Okafor. Schilling and Costello must be ready to play exceptional basketball against a player of Okafor’s supposed talent.

Nick Carver is a multimedia journalist for Impact Sports

Photo: David Defever/Impact Sports