LAS VEGAS -- As it hit 3-pointer after 3-pointer in the first half of its eventual 87-67 win over UCLA, Michigan State saw something familiar in its opponent.
Michigan State players saw a UCLA team that seemed panicked at times, unsure of what to do in the face of adversity and how to fight back in a big game.
The Spartans recognized those attributes because not long ago, they were going through those growing pains themselves as a young team playing in its first marquee games.
Now, Thursday's win proved that Michigan State is on the other side of that equation, as the veteran team that knows how to win big games while teaching lessons to younger teams.