At Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, No. 2 Kentucky topped No. 13 Michigan State 69-48 in a game that John Calipari's Wildcats ran away with late.
Entering the game, Kentucky's sharpshooting freshman Malik Monk had been inconsistent at best, shooting just 25 percent on 3-of-12 from deep. But Tuesday it was a different story.
Monk set the net on fire and embraced the big stage, dropping 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting from deep. He was efficient and lethal for the Cats, who needed his perimeter firepower, as he was the only Wildcat to hit a 3-pointer.
The game featured some of college basketball's best athletes, and we got an early example of just how special some of these players are. In an early sequence in the game on a Kentucky drive, Michigan State freshman Miles Bridges glided through the air to come away with a huge block, only to have it topped by a more impressive block by Kentucky's Bam Adebayo on the other end of the floor.
Here are some key takeaways from the Wildcats' dominant performance.
1. Malik Monk foiled the Michigan State gameplan
The scouting report for Michigan State coming into the game? Pack the paint and dare the Cats to beat them from deep. Based on Kentucky's shooting woes early this season, it was a good plan. But then ... Monk happened. Kentucky's De'Aaron Fox pushed the offense in transition early on, and found Monk for back-to-back 3-pointers to get him going. Once Monk found his rhythm, he didn't cool off, which proved to be too much for the Spartans to overcome. When you have a guy go 7-of-12 from deep, after all, you can pretty much throw out the gameplan no matter how well conceived it may have been.
2. Tom Izzo's squad has an identity crisis
Michigan State is young and inexperienced, and they lack proven scorers, which cost them against Kentucky, which had too much length and athleticism for Sparty to handle. Against Arizona, Michigan State's athleticism helped to create offense behind Miles Bridges, who was a mismatch nightmare for Sean Miller's squad. But with Kentucky, Bridges was held at bay by Bam Adebayo and the Kentucky frontcourt. They won't face many teams as talented as Kentucky, but they were exposed offensively. Bridges is great in spots, but they don't have an established, reliable scorer they can go to when they need a bucket. Eron Harris has the potential to develop into a go-to, but he was a virtual no-show with just two points on 1-of-3 shooting. They need to find a way to get Harris and Matt McQuaid more involved in the action.
3. Cats feast on sloppy play
The Spartans were so sloppy in the first half that Tom Izzo tweaked his starting backcourt in the second half. Michigan State averaged 11.9 turnovers per game last year, but through two games, they have averaged 19. They committed 19 against the Wildcats in The Garden -- 8 of which were steals. When you turn it over against Kentucky, you're automatically at a disadvantage by allowing them to run in transition. Here's what De'Aaron Fox can do to make you pay:
Overall, the takeaway is that Kentucky advances to 2-0 on the season, while Michigan State finds itself in a precarious 0-2 hole with a challenging November slate ahead. On the plus side, though, Kentucky exposed all of their weaknesses, so there's a clear example of how to improve moving forward.
Tom Izzo's team will get a chance to secure their first win on Friday as they take on Mississippi Valley State.