INDIANAPOLIS – Joshua Langford was missing from deep. Cassius Winston and Matt McQuaid were, too.

Then Kenny Goins came to Michigan State's rescue.

The senior scored a career-high 17 points and hit three 3-pointers to help the 10th-ranked Spartans prevent No. 1 Kansas from posting a blowout. Guns added a late tip-in to MSU's pull within six, but the Jayhawks held on for a 92-87 win Tuesday in the Champions Classic.

And it only got that close because Kansas let Goins shoot.

"In the (handshake) line, coach (Bill) Self said, 'We kind of planned on you shooting it,'" Goins said. "So they let me take as many as I did."

The 6-foot-7 forward, who started alongside Nick Ward against the Jayhawks' big lineup. That included going MSU's offense struggles to find any rhythm.

Goins added 11 rebounds, two shorts of equaling his career-high of 13, and he had an impressive shot of Lagerald Vick in transition that led to a fast break 3-pointer for Langford going fast in the other direction.

"I thought Kenny did play well," MSU coach Tom Izzo said. "He rebounded, got a double-double, made some 3s."

Gored did on Kansas forward Dedrick Lawson, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds but made just 5 of 18 shots.

"I thought the physicality bothered him a little bit," Self said of Lawson. "(The Spartans) were really good. Goins kept bodying him up on shots and things like that, which knocked him off balance a little bit. "

But it was a self-failed strategy that could not be better than Goins moving forward.

"It's just having that confidence," Goins said. "Being on this stage has many times, so you know what to expect. The bright lights do not scare you so much now. "

Running game

MSU executed one thing Izzo wanted his players to do: running the court.

"We're pretty good," he said. "I think we can do better."

MSU scored 26 points, but Izzo said he did not see the Spartans in the game. Winston and McQuaid played more than 33 minutes apiece, Goins played nearly 33, Langford played more than 29 and Nick Ward played more than 25.

The Jayhawks also got worn down in the final 10 minutes, especially as their foul trouble mounted.

"They definitely were tired," said Winston, whose 11 assists were two shy of his career high. "We pushed it. We got some easy ones. Even in the second half, we came out and we were still pushing it. We pushed it the whole game. "

Self was impressed with MSU's plan to run his big men and get them fatigued.

"I just can not get over how fast they go from defense to offense. They're the best we'll go all year long, "the Kansas coach said. "We thought we could slow them down in transition and control the defensive boards, we'd be in good shape. We did 50 percent of that, and that's why the game was so close late, because we gave up so many easy sneakers in transition. "

High praise

Also had positive things to say about the Spartans after the game. Including that he wished he was not playing so early in the season.

"First of all, it's going to be too much to do that," said the Illinois coach said. "But it's great to tip off the season this way. I think they are going to be really good. "

Lawson also gave kudos to MSU.

"Michigan State is a great team, a great shooting team," he said. "We relaxed at times. They got those open looks. They played great tonight. They made shots, and they run. "

Izzo felt playing Kansas will give the Spartans a boost at some point.

"We'll get more positive out of this than negatives," he said.

Key fall

After falling behind in the first half, the Spartans chipped away at Kansas' cushion.

Langford began to catch fire in the second half, hitting two early 3-pointers. Then Goins his MSU to 63-55 with 14:40 remaining.

But the Jayhawks blocked a Ward, and Devon Dotson hit a 5-on-4 3-pointer at the other end to spark seven straight points for Kansas.

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"I feel good," Ward said after the game, "but my back hurts.

That was a play Izzo pointed to the game as a big momentum shift, one was not happy about.

"We're not getting enough of a swing point when it's an eight-point game. … I thought that was a terrible call, and I told the refs that, "Izzo said. "And I thought it was a critical call. But in their fairness, this is their first game, they are trying to adjust to new rules. It's our first game, we're trying to adjust to new rules. That's the only negative about it.

"But who cares – you learn from it. We'll be better off playing this game on this stage in this tournament. "

Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free on Apple and Android devices!