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LAS VEGAS – A team from the state of Michigan has come to the desert, fearing that his impressive streak of wins over three wins will be a mirage, likely to disappear far from home against a ranked opponent.
He quickly discovered that his improvement after the loss early in the season against Kansas was very real.
Michigan State No. 11 dismantled UCLA's No. 17 in the first half, before winning an 87-67 semi-final victory at the Las Vegas Invitational Tournament at Orleans Arena.
Michigan State (4-1) will now play Texas in the Las Vegas Invitational Championship game on Friday (6:30 pm, ET, FS1). The North Longhorns defeated North Carolina, No. 7, in the first semifinal game Thursday afternoon.
The Spartans are going into this game out of their most impressive performances of the young season. The Spartans scored 10 shots on goal in the first period with a total of 29 points in the first period.
The Bruins (4-1) have attempted a man defense, a zone and a press to slow down the Spartans' offense. Nothing worked. The Spartans were open to all and hit them, while offensively slowing a young UCLA team facing its first real test of the season.
Cassius Winston led Michigan with 19 points, 8-15 and three points. Joshua Langford also scored three points and 14 points, while Nick Ward scored 16 points. As a team, Michigan State finished with 12 3 points.
Forward Kenny Goins recorded 13 rebounds, his third double-digit performance this season, while Michigan State won the battle, 37-33.
The Spartans have now won four straight victories since their loss, having won three straight home wins against lower-level competitors.
Here are three observations on Michigan State's victory:
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