As team, MSU (7-3) shot over 55 percent from the field and just under 59 percent from three-point range, making 10-of-17 threes in an 87-61 victory over the visiting Golden Grizzlies.

“We are shooting it well,” Izzo said. “I thought we took a lot of good shots…(Dawson) looked for his shot in the lane. (Valentine) looked for his shot a little bit more, and those are two things we harped on the last three-four days.”

Even Oakland head coach Greg Kampe was complimentary of MSU’s shooting.

“I don’t care who they play—they can play Kentucky—if they shoot the ball the way they shot it tonight, they can beat anybody in the country,” Kampe said.

Junior guard Bryn Fobes scored his 1,000th career point when he drilled a deep jumper at the 14:49 mark in the first half. Forbes scored 905 points at Cleveland state before transferring to MSU and has since averaged 10.3 points per game this year as a Spartan.

“It’s a good accomplishment,” Forbes said. “I’ve always prided myself on scoring, so I’m happy to do that. But I’ve got my eyes on a bigger goal right now, and that’s getting to where we’re gonna go.”

Forbes added two threes and a total of 12 points. Junior forward Denzel Valentine was on fire from beyond the arc, making five of the six threes he attempted.

“I’ve been working on (my shot) since I got here,” Valentine said. “It’s finally starting to pay off, and I’m getting confident, so just keep shooting no matter what.”

Entering the game, Forbes, Valentine, and senior guard Travis Trice were all shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range.

Senior forward Branden Dawson also had a chance to join the 1,000 point club, but needing 17 points, he came up just short, finishing with 14. Izzo was pleased with the senior's performance and Dawson looking to be aggressive on the offensive end.

"I've been hammering on him," Izzo said. "He's gotta play like that. The only thing he didn't do as well was rebound. He had to look for his shot, shuffle dribbling in there, just jumping over people-he can do that so well."

MSU's next game will be Wednesday when Eastern Michigan (8-1) comes to East Lansing. The Eagles rely on a 2-3 zone on the defensively. EMU knocked off Michigan on Dec. 9, but with MSU's offense knocking down shots at an impressive rate, the Spartans should be fine, Valentine says.

"I'm happy with where we're at," Valentine said. "I feel like we made progress this game. Defensively, we gotta pick it up a little bit. Offensively, we got back on a track a bit."