Game Recap: Spartans Provided With Wake-up Call in 69-62 Loss to No. 2 Kentucky

The Michigan State Spartans (0-1) fell to the Kentucky Wildcats (1-0) Tuesday in game two of the Champions Classic. Cassius Winston led the Spartans in scoring with 21 points, while Tyrese Maxey led the Wildcats with 26 points.

Tom Izzo is 3-6 all-time in the Champions Classic.

Losing always stings, but in a weird way, this loss was good for Michigan State. This was the first time in history that the Spartans opened the season as the number one ranked team. A loss to any team serves as a wake-up call. But a loss this early to a team this good immediately eliminates the ego of being number one and provides Tom Izzo with an immediate basis of what this team needs to work on.

Freshman Rocket Watts, Malik Hall, and Julius Marble all made their collegiate debuts. Watts failed to score during his 22 minutes of play. Hall (9 minutes) and Marble (4 minutes) also failed to score. Despite the fact that these new faces did not score, they still showed a promising upside in the few minutes that they played. It was evident that these three will be key contributors to this team.

As for the rest of the team, no player scored 10 or more points besides Cassius Winston. That will be a problem in the future, especially against championship-caliber teams such as Kentucky.

The Spartans look to bounce back against Binghamton on Sunday, November 10.

(Photo by Matthew Mitchell/ MSU Athletic Communications)

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