Nairn was everything we’ve come to expect and more. He was fired up and passionate, fist pumping after good plays and throwing his body to the ground for loose balls. He knew when to filter his emotions, however, and appeared calm and composed bringing the ball up as the Buckeyes waited for him to fall victim to their half-court traps.

Defensively, Nairn was one of a couple Spartans graced with the opportunity to defend one of the nation’s best scorers - freshman guard D’Angelo Russell. Russell has climbed NBA draft boards and some have him projected as a top five pick, but after letting Russell back him down for an easy jumper to start the game, Nairn was all over his freshman counterpart the rest of the way.

“Tum Tum” believes his new starting role and today’s defensive assignment are a testament to the faith head coach Tom Izzo has instilled in him.

“It shows the type of defensive player he thinks that I am and the type of confidence he has in me defensively,” Nairn said. “(Russell) was a tough cover, I’m not gonna lie, because he had like three or four inches on me.”

“I really play defense with my heart. If you guard with your heart, everything takes care of itself...Every shot that he made tonight was tough. I don’t think he had a wide open shot, so that was good for us.”

Russell was clearly affected by Nairn, as he finished with just 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting--in 39 minutes.

Nairn’s defensive intensity has been seen before, including his pestering of Indiana junior guard Yogi Ferrell earlier this year. His offense, however, has always been more of a concern.

Nairn played the type of minutes that his ‘big brother’ Green would have played (36). After joining the starting lineup for the second consecutive game, he saw a season-high amount of game time. “Tum Tum” responded with seven points and four assists, even making an uncontested three-pointer in the first half.

“I know the way teams are playing me,” Nairn said. “I knew I was gonna get a wide open shot. If would have hesitated, I probably would have missed it but I didn’t hesitate.”

Izzo joked about the shot after the game, saying that it was diagrammed last night and called "sneak attack."

Nairn is an ideal teammate, according to senior forward Branden Dawson. His attitude and approach have provided MSU with an important lift.

“You know Tum doesn’t care if he gets two points, if he doesn’t score,” Dawson said. “That’s what kind of guy he is. What he feeds off of is playing defense and getting guys involved. That’s all he cares about. Just to have a guy like that on your team means a lot.”