He also had two blocks, three steals and a pair of assists while shooting 6-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-5 from 3-point range.

“I thought Kenny was our best player early,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said. “His defense is phenomenal. You can play him on bigs, and you can play him on guards.”

Goins guarded forward Jalen Smith, who finished with six points on 3-of-8 shooting, most of the night, and impressed Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon with his prowess on both ends.

“He’s a good player,” Turgeon said of Goins. “He’s a great rebounder. He can make some shots; he’s a really good defender, a physical defender. He did make some nice passes, but we knew what we were getting into — you just have to pick your poison a little bit when you guard these guys.”

The poison on Monday, partly, was Goins, who led the Spartans in scoring for the first time and registered his fourth double-figure scoring game of the season. He entered  Monday's game averaging 6.7 points and 9.5 boards but showed he’s able to score when called upon.

The performance was especially noteworthy given Nick Ward's rough night. He went scoreless for the first time in his career and had four fouls in 14 minutes. Coupled with the added expectation of Winston, MSU’s leading scorer at 18.0 points per, Goins said becoming an added threat offensively can diversify the offense.

“I’m not gonna say we’re hurting for guys, but it’s always easier when you have more guys to throw at them,” Goins said.

Goins as a scoring option can go a long way for the Spartans, who have back-to-back road games at No. 19 Iowa (16-3, 5-3) and Purdue (12-6, 5-2) on Thursday and Sunday, respectively. 

“Tonight, every shot felt like it was going in,” Goins said. “... It was kind of just the confidence of not just taking it, but feeling like you’re gonna make it.”

Bridges returns to East Lansing

Charlotte Hornets rookie and former MSU standout Miles Bridges was honored in a pregame ceremony Monday. This was his first public appearance at the Breslin since declaring for the NBA after last season as a sophomore. The Flint, Michigan native was given the ring for last year’s Big Ten regular season Championship and kissed the Spartan helmet at midcourt, a tradition usually set for departing seniors on the last home game of the season.

“It’s always fun to have him back up here,” Winston said.

Bridges appeared in 62 games for the Spartans, averaging 17.0 points, 7.6 boards and 2.4 assists. Since being drafted No. 12 overall during the most recent draft, Bridges is averaging 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 19.2 minutes for the Hornets, which are in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Hornets play the Memphis Grizzlies, the team of former college teammate and fellow rookie Jaren Jackson Jr., on Wednesday. Bridges also announced last week he plans to participate in the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest on Feb. 17, as part of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend festivities.

“I just love when those guys come back,” Izzo said. “It was pretty cool. Miles came back, and I said, ‘Do you want a chance to kiss the Spartan head?’ (and he said) ‘Hell yeah I do.’”

Langford update

Izzo said junior shooting guard Joshua Langford (left ankle) was walking around without a boot on his injured foot and participated in some light shooting drills on Sunday. The 6-foot-5-inch Langford has missed each of the last five games and hasn’t played since Dec. 29. Izzo ruled out the possibility of Langford playing on Thursday at Iowa (7 p.m./FS1), but is optimistic that the junior shooting guard's return may not be far out.

“Now that the boot has been taken off periodically, now that he can work out a little bit,” Izzo said. “I think we’re starting to see some progress here, which would be music to my ears.”