Ninth-ranked Michigan State is looking for improvement when it faces long-distance heaving Cornell on Monday night at East Lansing, Mich.
The Spartans (11-1) have a stellar record, but coach Tom Izzo would like to see an upgrade to his team’s caliber of play.
“We’ve just got to play better,” Izzo said. “These last five games, we have some guys who didn’t play as well.”
The Spartans went 4-1 in those games, a span that includes a 66-60 home loss to Duke. But the most recent outing, a 79-70 win over Oakland on a neutral floor in Detroit, wasn’t all that grand in Izzo’s eyes.
The contest against Cornell precedes the resumption of Big Ten play on Friday at Nebraska. The Spartans previously recorded conference wins over Iowa and Penn State.
Izzo told reporters that Cornell (6-5) presents big challenges. He sees the Big Red’s propensity for shooting 3-pointers — and making 41.6% — as a troubling component.
“You’re going to be surprised when you see this team,” Izzo said. “They shoot 34 3s per game. … That poses problems for you. And they’re good.”
Jaxon Kohler leads Michigan State in scoring (13.9 points per game), rebounding (10.3), 3-pointers (19) and blocked shots (14 total).
Coen Carr averages 11.6 points and is coming off a career-best 22-point effort against Oakland.
“(Carr) still missed some wide-open shots, but I think he got some confidence and he did get some big-time rebounds, and that’s what he’s got to play,” Izzo said. “We need him to play well if we’re going to be anything but better than we are.”
Kohler added 13 points and 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
Cornell will be playing just its second game in 22 days due to final exams and the holiday break.
The Big Red’s most recent contest was an 83-75 victory over host Albany on Dec. 21.
Cornell knocked down 17 3-pointers against the Great Danes with star Cooper Noard making 5 of 6 from behind the arc while scoring 25 points.
The senior guard is averaging 20.6 points and shooting 41% from 3-point range (34 of 83). Last season, he led the Ivy League by making 41.8% of his shots from distance.
Noard has knocked down 182 career 3-pointers and is eight away from moving into fifth place in Cornell history. Shawn Maharaj (1988-92) and Chris Wroblewski (2008-12) currently share fifth with 189.
Noard made 60 treys as a sophomore and 79 last season while averaging 13.2 points per game. That led to chatter that Noard might enter the transfer portal and find a bigger stage.
He did look around but decided staying with the Big Red was the right move.
“It was an easy decision,” Noard said recently. “My teammates and coaches — that’s why. I fell in love with this place through them. … It’s easy to sacrifice when you love watching your teammates succeed.”
Cornell is averaging 14.2 3-pointers per game. The Big Red have reached double digits in nine of their 11 games, including sinking a school-record 24 in a 114-70 rout of Division III Misericordia on Nov. 26.
For comparison, Michigan State makes 7.3 3-pointers per game and shoots 35.7%.
This will be Cornell’s ninth road contest against just three at home.
Big Red second-year coach Jon Jaques was a member of Cornell’s memorable Sweet 16 team in 2010. The No. 12 seed defeated Temple and Wisconsin before losing to top-seeded Kentucky.
