The Spartan height did wonders against the LIU Brooklyn front court of forward Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere, who both measure in at 6-foot-7.

Heading into the game, head coach Tom Izzo knew the height advantage would benefit MSU.

“We knew our strength was our size,” Izzo said. “I can’t say enough about Derrick and Adreian, unbelievable performance 16 of 24.”

But just as Izzo knew the Spartans’ edge was size, he knew the inside athleticism of the Blackbirds was their strength.

But Nix wasn’t so concerned with that, he safely said after the game.

“We have guarded versatile forwards all year,” he said. “We just went out there and tried to get in the gaps like coach told us and get back out to the shooters.”

Izzo said rebounding was a focus this week, and the team had a long, rough practice on Tuesday, something they don’t normally do this time of season.

“The 43-20 rebound edge was very important to us tonight,” he said. “And it helped us win the game. I’m telling you, that was a good basketball team we played.”

During Thursday’s press conferences, the Blackbirds called the Spartan forwards slow and heavy set, the slender Payne and the rest of the crew didn’t take lightly to the harsh words.

“It’s crazy for them to say things like that,” he said. “As players, we come out to play. We had a meeting last night and we just used it for motivation and came out and played. It lit a fire and added gas to the fire.”

So the centers took that fire and built it up.

“We wanted to pound them because they don’t play that many guys,” Nix said. “We wanted to get them in foul trouble. Just get it down low and pound them, just like they were going at us.”