Tom Izzo and the MSU Spartans opened up their regular season Friday night against the Florida Atlantic Owls and currently lead FAU 43-21. The Owls are under the leadership of former Detroit Pistons head coach Michael Curry, and former Spartan standout and current FAU assistant coach Eric Snow. MSU has won 30 straight season openers at home, including 15 under Izzo.

MSU doubled up the Owls in the first half, mainly due to a big 18-2 scoring run that was sparked by a Bryn Forbes three-pointer. MSU only shot six threes in the first half, but connected on two of them. The Owls are only 1-8 from behind the arc.

MSU shot 50 percent from the field as a team, while holding Florida Atlantic to just 27 percent . A big reason behind that is the interior defense for MSU, even with Gavin Schilling out with turf toe. MSU accumulated eight blocks in the first half and grabbed 17 defensive rebounds, limiting the Owls second chance opportunities in the process.

Offensively, Matt Costello leads MSU with 11 points, and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. Freshman Deyonta Davis was a terror on the offensive glass with six offensive rebounds, and he has seven points and seven rebounds at the end of the first.

The referees’ whistles were making noise in the first half, as a total of 22 fouls were called in the first half, as well as numerous traveling penalties. The Spartans were in the bonus early, and as a result, attempted 16 free throws, making 11 of them.