Head coach Tom Izzo made some changes to his starting lineup, swapping sophomore guard Tre Holloman in for senior guard A.J. Hoggard and putting senior center Mady Sissoko back in for sophomore center Carson Cooper, who saw some time in the starting five over the past few games. 

Sissoko won the tip for MSU, and the Spartans wasted no time getting some points on the board with a quick three from graduate student guard Tyson Walker and some points in the paint for Sissoko. But after those five points, MSU struggled to get anything to the basket for nearly three minutes. 

For a team yet to win a game, the Eagles kept pressure on the Spartans early defensively and nearly grabbed as many boards as MSU at the start. Georgia Southern had some great blocks and did a good job at boxing out Spartan shooters, which made it hard for MSU to take control of the game. 

On the other end of the floor, Sissoko denied an Eagle layup in dramatic fashion to bring the Breslin crowd to its feet and the visiting squad was having trouble getting their shots to fall. 

About 11 minutes into the first half, MSU built up a 14-point lead on a 10-0 scoring run. It was topped off by some fancy footwork from freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. that led into a perfectly placed jumper and a huge dunk from Cooper off a pass from Walker that put the Spartans up 23-9. 

Although still young, Fears seems to have fallen into his role of commanding the floor quite comfortably over the course of the matchup against the Eagles. The freshman was all over the place, grabbing the most boards in the first half with seven and directing his teammates on both ends of the court. 

The end of the first half saw a Spartan quad that looked a lot more gelled together than they were at the start of the game. MSU was effectively moving the ball and totaled 11 assists by the end of the half to hold a demanding 38-11 lead heading into the locker room.

Georgia Southern struck first in the second half via a trip to the charity stripe for sophomore forward Nate Brafford, but Walker kept up the pace for MSU coming back onto the court following the half. 

The Eagles picked up the pace on offense, making nearly every shot they put up early in the second half, but MSU responded in kind going 4-4 from the floor.

With 13 minutes left, Eagle senior forward Cam Bryant fouled out and was sent to the bench with four points. 

Junior guard Jaden Akins found himself fighting for points in the paint, putting up a back-to-back jumper and layup to extend the Spartans' scoring run to 13-0. 

Freshman forward Xavier Booker sunk a three-point jumper late in the final half, showing off his versatility as a player, making just the third bucket from beyond the arc for MSU Tuesday night. 

With five minutes left in the game, Michigan State was up 74-42 and “We want Steven (Izzo),” chants were ringing out through the Breslin Center — a telltale sign that the Spartan fans were comfortable enough with the team’s lead to bring some new players off the bench. Three minutes later, the crowd got its wish — graduate student guard Steven Izzo and sophomore guard Nick Sanders subbed in for the end of the matchup. 

Michigan State continued to dominate both ends of the floor and secured a 86-55 win to end the night.

Michigan State will take on Wisconsin at home next Tuesday at 7 p.m.