"Man I was so mad at him - they probably gave that (block) to him," Costello said after the win. "I got the first little bit of it and then DD came over-top and threw it out of bounds. I was happy he blocked it ... but underneath I was like 'come on stop taking my blocks." 

Costello is now three blocks away from breaking Branden Dawson's record for most blocks in MSU history. Bigger than the record, however, is the hand he has had in helping Davis develop and the bond they have formed on the court. Their on court chemistry has given Izzo a starting lineup with two high caliber big men. 

Davis came into his freshman year with a lot of potential and huge expectations on his shoulders. After coming off the bench for most of the season, Davis has started the last 11 games and Costello said he really enjoys sharing the paint with Davis. 

"It's a blast," Costello said about playing with Davis. "It's great to see him grow from a little punk freshman to now a punk sophomore. Hopefully he can keep it going. I'm proud of everything he's been able to do, it's been great." 

Davis and Costello have formed a terrorizing front-court for MSU with Davis' length, size and improving post game mixed with Costello's skill in the post and knack for blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. 

Davis finished the game Sunday with 15 points and five rebounds and three blocks, just one point shy of tying his career-high for points. Meanwhile, Costello recorded his Big Ten best sixth double-double in conference play with 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.  

The growth and maturation of Davis has been a big part of MSU winning eight of its past nine games, including four in a row. This season, in games in which Davis scores in double-figures, MSU is now 9-1, with the lone loss coming against Nebraska. 

Davis said he has just been trying to get better every game and he thinks a big part of his improved play is being adjusted to the speed of college basketball.

"My game has grown a lot since I came from high school," Davis said. "I got used to the speed of the game and the physicality. I just credit my teammates for helping me understand the game and just taking the game seriously."  

One of the things Davis is still working on is being more aggressive on rebounds. Davis is only averaging 5.7 rebounds per game and has only recorded double-digit rebounding totals in four of MSU's 29 games. 

Costello said he thinks rebounding has been one of the bigger adjustments for Davis who was so much bigger than kids in high school, making rebounding was much easier. 

"Just being aggressive towards the ball," Costello said. "He didn't need to in high school ... but he's getting better at it."

His teammates can see the improvement in his game, but more than that, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said after the game he was proud of the hustle Davis showed late in MSU's blowout win. 

Davis, along with several other teammates dove to the ground for a loose ball with just over nine minutes to play in the second half leading 72-39. Izzo said after the game that he challenged Davis before the game to be more aggressive and fight harder on the hustle plays, which is why it caught Izzo's eye when the 6-foot-10 Davis was one of the players crashing to the floor for the ball. 

"DD, I told him that," Izzo said of who's hustle late in the game he was most impressed with. "He's got knees that have never been scratched, and today if he could get a floor burn on his knees, I'd hug and kiss him, but I didn't quite do that, but I felt good. When I saw him going to the floor, I said 'That kid's growing up man, he's making progress.'