The Breslin Center might as well have been transported to Madison Square Garden Tuesday night, because Michigan State just delivered a throwback beatdown for the ages. Tom Izzo’s Spartans (4-0) obliterated No. 12 Kentucky 83-66 in the Champions Classic, turning what was supposed to be a marquee showdown into a 17-point clinic that had John Calipari’s successor Mark Pope looking shell-shocked on the sideline.
This wasn’t close. This was domination.
Jaxon Kohler — the 6-9 bruiser who’s been waiting his whole career for this stage — erupted for a career-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting, throwing down dunks like he was auditioning for a Cassius Winston-to-Xavier Tillman poster sequel. Freshman sensation Kur Teng, the Canadian sniper, went full Flintstones with 15 points including three ice-cold triples that had the Spartan bench doing the “Izzo hop.” Trey Fort added 13 with the kind of swagger that made Kentucky fans mutter “who the hell is this guy?” every time he buried a pull-up.
And the defense? Vintage Izzo suffocation.
Kentucky shot 37% from the floor, turned it over 16 times, and got absolutely bullied on the glass 42-29. Oumar Ballo, the 7-foot monster who was supposed to own the paint, finished with 8 points and looked like he wanted to transfer by halftime.
The numbers are obscene:
• MSU led by as many as 24
• Spartans shot 52% from the field and 10-of-21 from three
• Bench outscored UK’s 38-14
• Fast-break points: 22-4
This is the same Kentucky team that was a trendy Final Four pick. The same squad with four five-star freshmen. The same program that’s supposed to reload, not get reloaded on.
Instead, Michigan State just announced — in front of a national audience, on the Champions Classic stage that birthed the 2019 title run — that the Flintstones 2.0 aren’t coming… they’re already here.
Tom Izzo, now 27-14 all-time in November non-conference marquee games, was grinning like it was 2000 after the final horn:
“That’s the most complete 40 minutes we’ve played since Cassius, Xavier, and those guys were seniors. Proud doesn’t cover it.”
X is an absolute war zone:
• #SpartanDawgs trending No. 1 worldwide
• Jaxon Kohler’s dunk reel already at 2.1 million views
• Kentucky fans in shambles: “We just lost by 17 to MICHIGAN STATE??”
• Draymond Green live-tweeting fire emojis and “TOLD Y’ALL”
Next up: Colorado on a neutral floor in four days.
But tonight? Tonight belongs to East Lansing.
The Breslin North takeover in NYC is complete.
The Big Ten just got put on notice.
And college basketball’s new villain just dropped 83 on the blue bloods.
GO GREEN. GO WHITE.
And good luck to whoever’s next.
This team isn’t just 4-0.
They look like a problem. A big, green, Izzo-coached problem.
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