The Spartans and Jayhawks went back and forth to start play, trading baskets to bring the score to 11-11 just after the five minute mark in the first half. Of those 11 Spartan points, nine came from beyond the arc. However, Kansas would go on a 16-5 run in the next five minutes to give themselves an 11-point lead halfway through the first.

Kansas continued to widen its gap, increasing the score to 31-20 over the next two and a half minutes thanks in part to a handsy Spartan squad that fouled five times over that span.

The Jayhawks' lead held steady as the two teams traded baskets throughout the remainder of the first half, with the score being 48-36 in favor of Kansas at the break. MSU racked up eight personal fouls in the first half after not fouling at all for the first eight minutes of regulation. 

The second half began with the two teams trading 3-pointers, one from forward Kenny Goins, who had three on the night. The Spartans went on a 10-7 run to trim the deficit to single digits four minutes into the second half. 

Shortly thereafter, Kansas regained its lost ground and then some, thanks to a wide-open three from guard Devon Dotson to propel a 7-0 run by the Jayhawks to make the score 70-55 with just over 13 minutes left in the game.

MSU did not go down quietly as the team went on an 18-11 run to reach within nine points of the Jayhawks with just under six minutes to go. 

The Spartans continued to push, as they were brought to within three points in the final 38 seconds of the game thanks to a shot by forward Kyle Ahrens from beyond the arc. But ultimately it was too little too late, and the Spartans went on to lose 92-87.

"I think we just found our zone, we locked in as a team." said guard Cassius Winston, who put up 13 points and 11 assists in the game. "I think it was a pride thing, we weren’t going to let this team embarrass us. They’re a good team, but we have a lot of guys with a lot of pride, a lot of guys with a lot of talent and we just fought our way back."

Guard Joshua Langford led the Spartan offense with 18 points, going 5-of-11 from the floor, including sinking four of his six 3-point attempts. Goins followed closely behind with 17 points of his own. Forward Nick Ward was the only starter to not score in double digits, as he finished with nine points on 2-of-8 shooting.

Part of the Spartans’ struggles was due to their inability to stop Kansas freshman guard Quentin Grimes from beyond the arc. Grimes scored 21 points with 18 coming from long range.

"That’s a good team and they’re deserving of their ranking," Winston said. "They have all the pieces that they need." 

The Spartans will return to East Lansing for their regular season home-opener Sunday, and turn their attention to Florida Gulf Coast. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST at the Breslin Center.