Senior forward Matt Costello led the way with 15 points, while senior guard Denzel Valentine flirted with a triple-double and finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Senior guard Bryn Forbes chipped in with 12 points while freshman big man Deyonta Davis made his debut with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, rounding out the four Spartans in double-figures.

"We've got a deep team," said sophomore guard Javon Bess, who finished with nine points and six rebounds on the night. "I think we're all still feeling it out but playing good with each other. It just says we've got a deep team that anybody can play."

Costello said having that depth is crucial, especially considering the few injuries MSU has been faced with thus far on the year.

“It just proves how much depth we have,” Costello said of how many people contributed to the win. “We’re just able to throw somebody in and fill in spots and hopefully when (Gavin Schilling) comes back, he’ll just step right back into own.”

However, while depth is generally thought of as an advantage for most teams, Izzo said it could also be a potential reason for a few of MSU's mistakes in the opener. 

The Spartans struggled with turnovers against the Owls, finishing the night with 13 of them. In addition to this, at times, MSU looked out of sorts Friday night, which Izzo attributes to the team still becoming familiar with each other.

"The negative of playing so many guys in the two preseason games is I don’t think guys know how to play together yet,” Izzo said. “We don’t know who is where and why and when … We’re just trying to find each other and find ourselves a little bit. It’s going to definitely take some time. Unfortunately, we’re going into the fire against a team that’s very veteran.”

And while Izzo is impressed with where his team is at at this point of the season, he realizes the job will only get tougher, with a matchup against No. 4 Kansas coming up on Tuesday.

"We’re never satisfied,” Izzo said. “But if you look at where we were last year and where we are this year, I think we’ve made some strides. I just think we need to take a couple major steps here. And when you know who you’re playing next, that’s why you schedule the way you do because we’re going to be able to see if everything I’m saying comes true.”

MSU takes on Kansas on Tuesday in the State Farm Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m.