Michigan State vs. Kentucky: Score and Reaction from Champions Classic 2016

The No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats stayed perfect through their first three games of the 2016-17 season with a 69-48 victory over the winless No. 13 Michigan State Spartans during Tuesday night's Champions Classic from Madison Square Garden in New York. 

Behind Malik Monk's 23 points and Isaiah Briscoe's 21, Kentucky outscored Michigan State, 35-22, in the second half to cruise to a comfortable victory. 

Monk's prowess from three-point range proved to be the difference for Kentucky. The freshman shot 7-of-11 from distance and accounted for all of his team's three-pointers, via SEC Network:

A tantalizing matchup of freshman phenoms headlined Tuesday night's game, as Kentucky boasted Scout.com's No. 6-ranked freshman in De'Aaron Fox alongside No. 11 Edrice Adebayo, No. 12 Wenyen Gabriel and No. 13 Monk. Michigan State, meanwhile, touted a trio of top-30 freshmen in No. 14 Miles Bridges, No. 24 Josh Langford and No. 30 Cassius Winston.

After Kentucky opened the season with games against Stephen F. Austin and Canisius, the Spartans provided the first true test for the nation's No. 2 team. Michigan State was coming off an opening-night, two-point loss to No. 10 Arizona at the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu.

The youngsters on both sides liked to run, too, playing Tuesday night's game at a fast-and-furious pace. That wasn't necessarily a good thing, as the two teams combined for 34 turnovers.

Michigan State and Kentucky's big names had varying levels of success under such conditions. 

After Bridges put up 21 points in his debut, the high-flyer had more trouble breaking down Kentucky's defense, as the Wildcats held him scoreless for the game's first 17 minutes. He didn't have much of an easier time in the second half, as he finished the night with just six points on 2-of-11 shooting.

The Wildcats made sure not to give Bridges much space near the basket, which called his ability to adapt into question. On top of that, he committed nine of Michigan State's 20 giveaways.

ESPN Stats & Info showed the stark contrast between this season's Spartans and last year's through the first half on Tuesday:

Bridges attempted to make up for it on defense with 12 rebounds and two blocks, but it wasn't enough. Not one Spartan scored in double figures Tuesday, with Winston and Kenny Goins recording nine points apiece. 

MSU's inability to break down Kentucky put it behind early and created a hole from which it couldn't escape.

Monk started red-hot from distance, hitting four of his first six three-point attempts en route to scoring 14 of the Wildcats' first 26 points. 

The performance impressed ESPN's Jay Bilas:

Not to be lost in the freshman frenzy, sophomore guard Briscoe was the one to lead Kentucky's fast-paced transition game.

With the support of Fox's 12 points, the Wildcats had no trouble closing Michigan State out for its third straight win, via the SEC Network: 

"

De'Aaron Fox ⬆️⬆️⬆️ pic.twitter.com/GaFJuaVUfR

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 16, 2016"

Kentucky passed its first real test with flying colors against one of college basketball's powerhouses. With an impressive showing from the backcourt, the Wildcats have a complete scoring attack that looks tough to stop this season. 

Meanwhile, there should be major cause for concern within Michigan State's ranks after dropping to 0-2. With a roster comprised largely of players yet to find their legs at the college level, head coach Tom Izzo might have his hands full in 2016-17.

Postgame Reaction

Kentucky head coach John Calipari had an inkling Monk would have a big game on Tuesday, which set a good example for the fellow youngsters (via Rivals.com):

"

He had an unbelievable shootaround today. I’ve done this for thirty years. We had two other players on the team that had so-so shootarounds, and guess what? They had so-so games. And it was a great lesson because getting him and [guard] De’Aaaron [sic] [Fox] to not be casual…these guys play casual, they practice casual and that’s what we’ve got to teach them. You can’t be. You’ve got have another habit. They’ve got to create a habit of really getting after it. Malik Monk had one of the best shootarounds that any of my players have had in the past few years and I expected he would go in and go play well.

"

While Briscoe is the veteran presence on the team despite being in just his second year, he exhibited some of those leadership qualities after the game (via Rivals.com):

"

This is a big win for us. I think playing in the Garden was big for the frreshmen [sic] and everybody’s [sic] who’s never had a chance to play in a game big like this. It’s tough to play at the Garden your third game of the season when you’re a freshman, but they played well, they performed well. We came out with the win.

"

There was no such joy for Michigan State's youngster Miles Bridges, who spoke with the media after the game, per Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press (via the Lansing State Journal): "I felt really embarrassed. I felt like I let my whole team down. … I feel like I just have to keep getting better.”

His head coach Tom Izzo provided some words of advice for him, per Solari: "I said, 'Miles, welcome to the real world. No more high school. You’re gonna get doubled, you’re gonna get this, you’re gonna get that. Just register and learn, because this is part of the process.'"

Michigan State has a chance to get its first two wins against lesser competition in Mississippi Valley State and Florida Gulf Coast before it meets St. John's and Duke toward the end of the month. 

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com. Recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com.