Kohler, who has often been "Mr. Reliable" for the Spartans this season, finished with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, 10 rebounds and three blocks. MSU was plus-19 in Kohler's minutes. His work on offense and defense from the start helped MSU stay in the game, and later on, run away with a lead to capture its ninth win of the season.

MSU also had help from two other bigs — sophomore forward Xavier Booker and senior center Szymon Zapala. 

Booker, the 6-foot-11 forward, finished with a career and game-high 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including three buckets from beyond the arc, five free throws, six rebounds and one block in 17 minutes. Zapala helped immensely on defense, grabbing eight rebounds and a game-high six blocks, adding five points and three assists in 19 minutes.

Within the first minute and a half of the game, Kohler scored MSU’s first points, grabbed a rebound and dished out an assist. The 6-foot-9 junior and senior guard Jaden Akins combined for 10 of MSU’s first 18 points. Kohler was the standout player in the first half, finishing with eight points, five rebounds, two blocks and an assist, a stat line inconsistent with MSU’s lagging offense through 20 minutes.  

The first half showcased an MSU team that often looked confused offensively. Oakland’s unorthodox zone defense tripped up the Spartans, making it hard for MSU to get past the perimeter. MSU took several minutes before utilizing its physicality to penetrate, draw fouls and get to the free-throw line.

“(Oakland) is a very good defensive team,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said postgame. “That zone is very, very difficult to go into. Any zone is hard to go against because not many people play zone anymore, but his zone is incredibly difficult to scout, to practice against and then to play against.”

Booker and Akins were MSU's main contributors from the line, adding a combined nine of the team's 19 makes out of 23 attempts.

Maybe the most surprising statistic from the game was MSU’s 11 total blocks — six from Zapala — a season-high. The Spartans are more adept at protecting the rim compared to previous seasons, which proved important as Oakland got hot in the first half. 

Oakland went 11-for-31 from beyond the arc, spearheaded by senior guard DQ Cole, who finished the game with 17 points, all but two coming from long range. Cole and senior guard Malcolm Christie, who shot 4-for-9 from three, often went on scoring runs throughout the game and made tough three-pointers in big moments. Many of the threes from Cole and Christie stopped MSU’s momentum and were part of why Oakland stayed in the game until the final six minutes. 

Ultimately, Booker was MSU's main enforcer late in the second half. Guards Jase Richardson, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Akins fed him the ball on numerous scoring plays — a trio of threes, a few converted layups and jumpers and even a powerful dunk. 

"Since Maui in the tournament, (Booker's) practiced a lot better and he’s becoming pretty efficient," Izzo said. "He’s becoming better defensively. Hats off to Book."

MSU will play Florida Atlantic on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. at Breslin Center. FS1 will air the game.