Michigan State makes a statement in the Garden, downs Kentucky, 83-66

Madison Square Garden has traditionally been a difficult building for the Michigan State Spartans. In the history of the Champions' Classic, the Spartans were 0-4.

But all streaks are meant to be broken.

Michigan State built an early lead over the Kentucky Wildcats thanks to a dominating first half and cruised to victory, 83-66.

The Spartans picked up another early marquee victory over a quality team from the SEC. This is the type of win that looks great on a resume in March and which often is the precursor to more banner ceremonies at the Breslin Center.

Jaxon Kohler led all players with 20 points. Kur Teng scored a career-high 15 points off the bench on 6-12 shooting, including 3-for-7 from deep. Trey Fort poured in 13 points.

Jeremy Fears, Jr. also had a strong game with 8 points and 13 assists to just two turnovers.

The Spartans used surprisingly hot shooting and dominating rebounding to take control of the game early. After the first few minutes, the Spartans clamped down of the defensive end and consistently created much higher quality looks on offense.

Kentucky shot just 35% from the field including 7-of-30 (23%) from three. In contrast, the Spartans shot 50% from the floor, both from two (21-for-42) and from three (11-for-22).

The Spartans collected a total of 42 rebounds (10 of which were offensive) compared to just 28 rebounds for the Wildcats. It was a balanced effort on the boards for the Spartans with Carson Cooper, Coen Carr, and Fears all collecting six rebounds while Kohler finished with five.

Kentucky was largely able to stay in the game simply due to a large advantage from the free throw line. The Wildcats hit 19-of-22 shots from the charity strip while the Spartans only hit 8-of-10.

The game opened with some frenetic back-and-forth action. Kentucky scored the first five points of the game and led for most of the first six minutes. The Wildcats were able to score three easy fast break baskets which helped contribute to the early, if small, lead.

But the Spartans were able to stay right in the game thanks to hot shooting from the outside. Michigan State’s first four made baskets were all from three. In total, the Spartans would hit seven triples in the first half.

The fifth made three-pointer of the game by the Spartans, from Teng, tied the game at 17-to-17 and was start of a 19-2 run that gave Michigan State a 32-19 lead with 6:28 to play in the first stanza.

Several Spartans contributed to the early run. Jesse McCulloch had a person five-point run including his first made three-pointer as a Spartan. Cam Ward and Cooper both had buckets on impressive post moves, and Fort contributed a made three.

As the first half wore on, Michigan State consistently got high quality shots while frustrating the Wildcats in the half court. Kentucky had only two made field goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half as the Spartans took a 44-27 lead into the locker room.

Kohler led the Spartans with 12 points and four rebounds at the half. Fort had eight points in the half and Teng had seven. Michigan State dominated the boards in the first half, 24-14.

But Kentucky would not go down quietly. The Wildcats played with much more energy and aggression coming out of the locker room while the Spartans were a bit sloppy in the half court.

Michigan State committed six turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the half which led to a series of fastbreak baskets and free throw attempts by the Wildcats.

Kentucky went on a 10-0 run midway through the second half which cut the lead to down to just 10 points, 58-to-48, with 10:34 to play in the game.

Tom Izzo called a timeout following a turnover-turned-layup to take it over with his team. That move seemed to settle the Spartans. Fort hit a jump shot, McCulloch hit another three, and the Spartans then went on a 12-to-3 run to push the lead back to 20 with 5:03 to play.

The lead eventually ballooned to 24 points with 2:34 remaining before Izzo emptied his bench.