There was no stunning opening night upset of a high-major program for Monmouth, nine years after the Hawks opened with a win over UCLA. What there was in an 81-57 loss to Michigan State at the Breslin Center Monday were some encouraging signs for a young lineup faced with a daunting first test.

After going down 17-2 in the opening minutes in East Lansing, Michigan, Monmouth got as close as 36-27 on a 3-pointer by Abdi Bashir Jr. with 1:11 left in the first half, with the 6-7 sophomore guard finishing with a team-high 20 points.

The lead was single digits again in the second half, getting as close as six points when Bashir drained a triple to make it 40-34, and then hit another to pull the Hawks within 46-37. But that was as close as they would get, with a 3-point play by Jaden Akins pushing the lead back to 12 points.

“Just a real cool night for us,” Monmouth head coach King Rice said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t shock the world. That’s what we wanted to do. But I’m still a proud, proud coach because my team kept fighting. We just got beat by a better club.

“We got punched in the face and I think our kids fought hard. They were just too much.”

Michigan State, coming off a 20-15 season in which they exited in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, have one more prep, hosting Niagara Thursday, before next Tuesday’s showdown with No. 1 Kansas in Atlanta. Akins led the way with a game-high 23 points.

Monmouth was playing without 6-9 redshirt sophomore forward Jaret Valencia, a Preseason All-CAA second team selection, who is coming back from sports hernia surgery.

The Hawks were perfect from the free throw line (9-for-9) in the first half, trailing 38-27 at the break. Guard Andrew Ball sank a triple from the top of the key to pull Monmouth within 53-43 with 11:48 to play before the Spartans pulled away.

“We cut it to six and then the Big Ten just took over,” Rice said. “Our kids were tired. At halftime we soaked through our uniforms already, and I’ve seen that happen before and when your kids are already drenched and they’re getting ready to come after you it’s going to be hard to stay in the game.”

Monmouth was in foul trouble from the start, with four players with four fouls at one point, before starting center Chris Morgan, a 6-9 North Texas transfer, fouled out.

The Spartans’ size just overwhelmed them inside, holding a 48-31 rebounding edge, getting 13 second chance points.

1. Shooting star shines

Without Valencia, there was a lot of pressure on Bashir to score, and he certainly did his best. He got off to a slow start, but he kept launching shots and they eventually started falling. And it was his shooting that kept Monmouth in the game for much of the night.

Bashir hit 7-of-22 from the floor, and was 3-of-11 from deep. The Spartans’ defense did its best to limit Bashir, who has the scoring mentality the Hawks will need this season. And when Valencia gets back on the court, it will give Bashir more room on the perimeter.

2. Backcourt newcomers show potential

Freshman guard Justin Ray looked like Monmouth’s second best scorer on the night. He was not afraid to let shots go and seemed confident in scoring 12 points, connecting on 3-of-4 from long range, and 4-of-6 from the floor.

And it was a promising start for Utah State transfer guard Aric Demings, who scored seven points on 2-of-4 shooting in 12 minutes.

It was an up-and-down night for Citadel transfer point guard Madison Durr, who started and scored 12 points, but struggled from most of the night, was in foul trouble and turned the ball over thee times. He did hit all eight of his free throws. Junior guard Jack Collins was out of synch on the offensive end, missing all 10 shots from the floor, including seven from deep.

In general, the offense lacked flow from the outset, with the Michigan State defense having a lot to do with it. There was more dribbling than passing at points, as Monmouth launched 14 triples in the opening 20 minutes, hitting four.

3. Tough night inside

Monmouth looks like it could struggle inside, with Morgan and 6-8 Jordan Meka, a Georgia Tech transfer, unable to hang with the Michigan State bigs. And 7-0 Dok Muordar, a Cleveland State transfer, only played four minutes. The three did not score a point between them.

Granted, Michigan State’s size and athleticism in the paint will give a lot of teams trouble. But Monmouth will have to find a workable rotation in the paint, and getting production at center could be a work in progress.

4. King Rice contract extension announced

Monmouth announced the signing of Rice to a five-year contract extension, first revealed by Rice last March after their loss to Charleston at the CAA Tournament. The extension runs through the 2028-29 season, and was triggered by a series of performance metrics after the Hawks beat Campbell in the opening round of the conference tournament.

In his 14^th season, Rice has a 207-209 career record, having come within a game of the reaching the NCAA Tournament three times, falling the MAAC Tournament final to Iona in 2016 and 2019, and to Saint Peter’s in 2022.

“King has earned this extension through his tireless dedication and commitment to Monmouth Athletics,” athletic director Jen Sansevero said. “King is a fierce competitor and drives his student-athletes to be leaders in the classroom, on the court, and in the community. We look forward to watching this same competitive spirit take flight in this challenging 2024-25 season.”

5. Back to N.J. for Temple showdown

Next up for Monmouth is Friday’s Jersey Jam game against Temple at CURE Insurance Arena in Trenton, with tip set for 6 p.m. It’s the first half of a double-header, with Princeton taking on Duquesne in the nightcap.

Temple beat Sacred Heart, 81-70, on opening day.

Pregame

Monmouth basketball vs Michigan State: 3 keys in opener, as Hawks seek high-major upset

You have to go into every game thinking you can win, no matter how long the odds. Even if you’re Monmouth heading into an aggressive opening night assignment Monday, taking on Michigan State (7 p.m./Big Ten-plus) at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan.

Then again, the Hawks have nine high-major wins under coach King Rice since the 2015-16 season, including last season’s takedown of West Virginia in Morgantown. And it all began with a season-opening win over UCLA at Pauley Pavilion nine years ago.

The Hawks will get plenty of chances to get one over the next two months, with the Spartans part of a brutal non-conference gauntlet that includes Rutgers, Seton Hall and Auburn, along with games against Temple, Princeton and Wichita State.

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“It’s definitely a heavy lift,” Rice said. “One of our heaviest lifts on a first night. UCLA was probably the one, but this is probably a heavier lift because my team was older when I went to UCLA.

”Michigan State’s in the Big Ten with a Hall of Fame coach (Tom Izzo) who’s coaching to get his school back to the Final Four. But sometimes you’re replacing NBA guys with young guys that haven’t played a lot of games yet. We need Jaret (Valencia) to go from eight points to 20 points. They need a couple of their kids to go from 6 to 17. Those are big jumps. And it’s the first game so you really don’t know. When we beat UCLA they had a bunch of new guys after losing a bunch of guys to the pros.

More: Monmouth basketball: King Rice 2024-25 preseason Q&A

“Hopefully we can get off to a good start and make it a fun game.”

It’s the first-ever meeting between the two programs, with Monmouth having been a Division I program for 41 years.

“They’ve got a guy who does scheduling for them, Kevin Pauga, and he speaks at the Final Four about scheduling, so Ricky (Callahan) has known him for a long time,” Rice said. “He’s always said we’d like to play, King likes taking them to play the Hall of Famers, we’ve gone to Kansas, Carolina, and all these places and would love to do it, but it just never fit. This year we were trying to find a game and we didn’t want to do our first game like that – we were going to pick someone we thought we could beat – but it worked out and we get to go against Tom Izzo, and that’s a cool night for our school.”

Here are three keys for Monmouth against Michigan State:

1. Begin developing the rotation

Valencia, the Preseason All-CAA second teamer is not expected to be in uniform as the 6-9 forward comes back from a preseason sports hernia. It’s unlikely he’ll play Friday night against Temple, either.

That could mean Boog Robinson, the 6-6 sophomore from Camden, gets the start, with a backcourt of 6-5 junior Jack Collins, 6-7, the only returning starter, sophomore Abdi Bashir Jr. and 6-5 point guard Madison Durr, a transfer from the Citadel. Chris Morgan, the 6-9 North Texas transfer, will start at center.

Morgan will be part of a rotation in the pivot with 6-8 Georgia Tech transfer Jordan Meka and 7-0 Cleveland State transfer Dok Muordar. First off the bench in the backcourt will be 6-7 redshirt sophomore Andrew Ball, sophomore point guard Aric Demings, a transfer from Utah State, and freshman Justin Ray.

2. Survive inside

This won’t be easy, with or without Valencia. The Michigan State frontcourt in last week’s scrimmage against Ferris State consisted of Frankie Fidler, a first team All-Summit league forward last season with Nebraska-Omaha who averaged 20.1 points and 6.3 rebounds, 7-0 Longwood transfer Szymon Zapala, and 6-11 sophomore Xavier Booker, with 6-11 Carson Cooper off the bench.

Morgan can provide a physical presence, but he’s only played 15 games over the previous two seasons, with Rice noting they’re still getting him in better shape, which could limit his minutes. Meka, who played 25 games over three seasons at Georgia Tech but did not play last season, may have his minutes limited due to an ailing knee, while Muordar only played 10 games at Cleveland State last season, averaging less than three minutes-per-game.

That puts a lot on Robinson, who plays bigger than his size. Team rebounding will be the key, with everyone hitting the glass hard.

3. Scorers wanted

Losing Xander Rice’s 20.1 points-per-game won’t be easy, but it will be interesting to see who steps up to fill the void. Valencia will eventually be counted on for a chunk of it. Monmouth needs Collins and Bashir Jr. in double figures as well, while Durr averaged 11.9 ppg. last season at the Citadel.

Sophomore Andrew Ball, who redshirted last season, is big (6-8) and can really shoot, starting seven games as a freshman and scoring 16 points against Charleston. Ray has shown an ability to score, with the number of minutes he and Ball play likely tied to their ability to defend.

Morgan has shown a nice touch inside. And really, anyone who flashes some offensive ability is going to get a chance.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: College basketball opening night: Monmouth NJ vs. Michigan State: