The No. 2-ranked MSU men’s basketball (2-0 overall) team toppled No. 1 Kentucky, 78-74, in the first game of Tuesday’s Champions Classic at Chicago’s United Center.

A superbly talented group of young Kentucky players – many of which are projected to be NBA-bound next season – were bested by the crafty, veteran Spartans.

Senior point guard Keith Appling led the fast-break charge, validating MSU’s increased emphasis on running in transition with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against three turnovers. Sophomore guard Gary Harris proved he’s fully healthy this season and ready to shoulder the scoring load with 20 points. Junior forward Branden Dawson returned to his dynamic pre-injury form by providing energy and playing tenacious defense against much taller players.

“Our program needed a program win,” head coach Tom Izzo said, “and that was one.”

The first meeting of the top-two ranked teams in the country since 2008 lived up to every ounce of hype. Kentucky (2-1) scratched and clawed its way back from a 13-point second-half deficit to pull within two with 42 seconds left on a shot from forward Julius Randle over a cluster of Spartan defenders.

Randle recovered from a passive first half in which he scored four points on 1-for-5 shooting by putting together a dominant final 20 minutes and finishing with 27 points and 13 rebounds. His aggression in the second half turned an even rebounding contest into a 44-32 edge in Kentucky’s favor by the end of the game.
Kentucky coach John Calipari said he altered his offensive philosophy at halftime to get Randle more touches in the paint, and it paid off. With senior center Adreian Payne, sophomore forward Matt Costello and Dawson on the bench in foul trouble late, the Spartans had no answer for the 6-foot-9 specimen many project as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

“I think Randle, what I loved about him – he gritted his teeth, was ornery and nasty and he wanted to put them on his shoulders,” Izzo said. “For a freshman, that speaks volumes. Nobody else did that. He completely did that. You could hear him talking, you could see it in his face, you could see it in his body language. Tough kid, I like him.”

Kentucky never led at any point, but Randle tied the game at 66 with slightly less than five minutes remaining.

Following a timeout, MSU had the ball and a 76-74 lead with 26 seconds left. Sophomore guard Denzel Valentine missed a pull-up jumper but junior forward Branden Dawson tipped it in, providing the Spartans’ final points.

“They’re gonna get a lot better, give them credit,” Izzo said of Kentucky. “But I thought we played awfully well a lot of that game. Then when we got in foul trouble, we had some bizarre lineups in. … So foul trouble hurt us.”

The Wildcats answered the double-digit halftime deficit with a roar, but the night started with a timid purr. MSU, victors in this event versus Kansas a season ago, flexed its muscle in the beginning by racing out to a 10-0 lead, capped by a thunderous alley-oop slam from Dawson.

In the early stages it seemed the primetime stage and bright lights were a little much for the youthful Wildcats, who started four freshmen and a sophomore. The Spartans’ early wave was fueled by nine first-half Kentucky turnovers.

Without James Young scoring 15 of his 19 points in the first half, MSU would have buried Kentucky early. The 6-foot-6 guard from Rochester Hills, Mich., proved why Izzo badly wanted him wearing green and white before pledging his allegiance to Calipari.

Ten straight points from Payne put the Spartans ahead 34-19 with 4:41 left in the first half for MSU’s biggest lead of the night. It appeared to be the overpowering surge MSU needed to knock Kentucky out, but the Randle-led comeback made the second period interesting. Aside from Randle’s standout effort, the 14 second-chance points his team took advantage of played a major role in the rejuvenation.

In all likelihood, MSU will overtake the No. 1 position when the new rankings are released following the victory – its fourth ever win against the top-ranked team.

“We want to be No. 1 at the end of the season, not the beginning,” Appling said.