The experience is apparent as the state of Michigan is leading the UCLA

LAS VEGAS – After scoring 3 points in the first half of his 87-67 win over UCLA, Michigan State saw something familiar to his opponent.

Players in the state of Michigan have seen a team of UCLA panicked at times, not knowing what to face adversity and how to defend themselves in an important match.

The Spartans recognized these qualities because, not so long ago, they themselves were experiencing growth problems as a young team participating in its first brand matches.

Thursday's win proved that the state of Michigan was on the other side of the equation, as a veteran team that knows how to win important games while teaching lessons to younger teams.

Michigan State dismantles UCLA early in the race for a 20-point win

"When things get complicated, they do not go to your side, that is when the experience comes into play," said Cassius Winston, the Michigan State leader. "We have been in this situation four or five times before, we know what to do, and they will learn it.

Coaches and players at Michigan State have touted the experience of this team as its best asset during the off season. After two years of growth difficulties related to young formations, Michigan State has brought back a nucleus of higher classes having won titles, having played in situations of high pressure and having learned to play with each other.

Thursday night, this attribute has been exposed more clearly than ever at any time this year. UCLA started two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior. Michigan State has started three juniors and two seniors.

When the ball rolled over, Michigan State played as a team that had played in big games before. UCLA played as a team that did not have one.

The players attributed this experience to the Spartans who had started well. Michigan State took a 10-point lead in seven minutes. And when the Spartans took part in races in the first half, including a 12-run start, UCLA's lack of experience was obvious.

"When a team succeeds, it's one of the scariest things of all time," Winston said. "You do not know when it's going to stop." Everything gives the impression of being so much bigger than it is, as you grow up, it's a 3, we can have a good one. "

Michigan State then hit 10 3 points in the first half. The Bruins went from one man to another, from one zone to another, from a defense to the press, and the offense was divided four against two.

"We played together today, a lot of players have come in. It's a difference between a team that has been playing together for a few years and a team that is starting to get to know each other again," said Kenny Goins. the senior Spartans forward. I said.

No individual showdown was more marked by the disparity of experience than at the center, where Nick Ward, Spartans Junior, was paired with Bruins rookie, Moses Brown.

Brown entered the game with an average of 17.3 points and 12 rebounds per game but only managed five points and 10 rebounds in his first significant test of his university career.

Ward said that he was limiting Brown by playing a physical basketball mark that seemed to put the rookie uncomfortably.

"This is not a very physical player," Ward said. "I tried to get him out of his game, to show him some action in the Midwest."

Offensively, Ward scored 16 points against the 7-foot-1 Brown. Giving four inches in the game, Ward is relied on some veteran movements to retrieve baskets, especially when he's surprised him sleeping at some point in the second half and that he launched a quick left hook that Brown did not dispute.

Ward, meanwhile, has also shown his own maturity. During a second period game under the basket, Ward had legs spread and fell to the ground. He got up quickly and seemed upset, but instead of confronting anyone, he clapped his hands and went back to his group.

"I thought Nick was doing well, he was great in caucuses," said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. "He has grown a lot."

Michigan State veterans have already played in games like this, especially their heavy non-conference defeats at the start of the 2016-17 season. These games taught them to solve games like the one on Thursday: keep pushing.

"Once they've dropped a little bit, you can feel that we have taken advantage of it, that we keep pushing them and that you can see them not giving up, but that you can say that they Do not have that experience to keep pushing, keep pushing, "Winston said.