Michigan State trounced on a wounded UCLA team early and didn’t let up as the Spartans out-toughed the Bruins to the tune of a 20-point victory in the opening round of the Las Vegas Invitational.
The Spartans relied on a hot stroke from just about anyone who touched the ball early on and carried that over, with some defense, into the second half.
A 25-point lead at the break turned out to be enough as Michigan State coasted in the second half, despite some sloppy play, to a 20-point rout.
While anyone could point to the 13-of-24 mark from 3-point range as the difference in this one, Michigan State made just three 3-pointers in the second half while UCLA shot much better from the field in the final 20 minutes to out-score the Spartans by five.