The Spartans shot the lights out early, rebounded with vim and punished Oakland on defense. And in the 88-57 win, the Green and White performed at the high level expected of them this year.

“It’s the third game in a row we’ve shot over 53 percent, so we are doing something right,” head coach Tom Izzo said. “And, yet, I think we still got a lot of room for improvement yet. I guess that’s the good news.”

The Golden Grizzlies’ play on the other hand, was more in accord with the winter weather. They shot a measly 35 percent (27 percent in the first half), but rarely had a chance to get those shots off as the Spartans dragged 12 steals out of their opponent.

Draymond Green led the way for the Spartans with a career-high 19 points (9-for-11 shooting) and 12 rebounds in a game that featured 12 players in white jerseys put points on the board.

The sophomore earned a “Dray-mond Green” pat on the back in the form of an Izzone cheer while presenting the Golden Grizzlies with a formidable challenge inside and out, knocking down shots from the top of the key while also playing the post.

“I’d been working on my 10-foot shot all summer long,” Green said. “Most of them have been in and out but coach stayed on me and just told me to keep shooting.”

The dominant first half was one big run for MSU, which took a 38-12 lead with 3:40 to go in the half. Meanwhile, Oakland managed only four baskets from within the 3-point arc in the first 20 minutes.

“A slow ugly game turned into a track meet and we couldn’t win a track meet with them,” Oakland coach Greg Kampe said. “Not many teams could.”

The Spartans had a 12-4 lead going into an Oakland timeout at the 11:53 mark in the first half, but the break didn’t stop the bleeding as the Green and White pressed on for a 14-3 into the next Golden Grizzlies’ timeout.

The second half featured a more balanced scoring see-saw, but the contest had been all but decided by the time the teams switched baskets. It also featured freshman Derrick Nix’s second made free throw in 23 attempts, earning an impassioned fist pump from Izzo and a roar from the crowd.

“I had to make one sooner or later,” Nix said with a laugh. “I’m coming along. I just have to keep getting my reps in.”

The Spartans will be off for exam week, continuing their homestand with a game against IPFW at 7 p.m. Dec. 19.

“It’s great to head into this eight-nine days with finals to see if we can start taking some steps forward,” Izzo said. “It was definitely our best performance, I thought, of the year.”