NEW YORK — Kur Teng made three of Michigan State’s season-high 11 3-pointers in a career-best 15-point effort, and the 17th-ranked Spartans defeated No. 12 Kentucky 83-66 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the opener of the annual Champions Classic.
Jaxon Kohler added two 3-pointers of his own to score a team-best 20 points, and Trey Fort added 13. Michigan State — which entered shooting 21.7% from 3-point range, the fourth-worst mark among 361 Division I programs — made half of its 3-point attempts after making just 14 through its first three games. Pounding the ball inside and cashing in on second opportunities – a much more familiar recipe for coach Tom Izzo’s bunch – also worked. The Spartans outrebounded Kentucky 42-28 and never led by fewer than 10 after Teng’s baseline fadeaway jumper deep in the corner with 2 seconds remaining in the first half.
Coen Carr threw down one of his signature dunks on an alley-oop early in the second, and Michigan State fended off some Kentucky runs and stretched its lead to 20 and beyond in the final minutes. The Wildcats (3-2) started fast and led 5-0 very early before going ice cold from the field. They were 8 of 29, including 4 of 15 from 3-point range, in the first half on the way to a second loss in three games.
Otega Oweh paced Kentucky with 12 points, with Denzel Aberdeen, Collin Chandler and New York native Mouhamed Dioubate adding 10 points each. Kentucky point guard Jaland Lowe missed his fifth straight game to start the season. He’s out indefinitely after dislocating his right shoulder in an intrasquad scrimmage last month.
https://www.espn.com.sg/mens-college-basketball/recap/_/gameId/401827221
