NEW YORK — Tom Izzo had some nit-picking to do even after 17th-ranked Michigan State pulled away to beat No. 12 Kentucky 83-66 in the Champions Classic on Tuesday night. The Hall of Fame coach also pointed out a major positive.

“We made some shots,” Izzo said. “I don’t know. Did we make more 3s today than we’ve made all year? That’s not meant to be funny, but it is funny."

Funny — and close. The Spartans shot 11 of 22 from beyond the arc at Madison Square Garden after making just 13 of their first 60 3-point attempts in their first three games, good for 21.7% and fourth-worst out of 361 Division I programs.

“I’m not really sure,” Kur Teng, who had three of those 11, said when asked what changed. “But we can only go up from here. We’ve just got to make sure we keep on stacking these type

See Full Page