As is expected from Michigan State men's basketball head coach Tom Izzo, the No. 22 ranked Spartans began their second game of the season head to head with another top 25 opponent, the No. 14 ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. The Razorbacks brought a familiar foe to town, head coach John Calapari. Although Izzo and Calapari have faced off numerous times during his time at Kentucky, this matchup was Calapari's first trip to experience the atmosphere of the Breslin Center.

In anticipation of the game, Izzone members lined up for hours before tipoff to get a seat close to the court to get the chance to support the Spartans.

First Half

With the Izzone full to the brim with fans, both teams began the game trading buckets, turnovers, and fouls. Most notably, one of the Spartan's big men, Carson Cooper, got himself into early foul trouble and was subbed out at the 16 minute mark. Cooper never returned during the first half, causing Jesse McCulloch and Cam Ward to trade minutes throughout the first half. McCulloch ended the first half with two points in four minutes and Ward finished with 12 points in 14 minutes.

Ward entered the game around the 16 minute mark with a chip on his shoulder and tied for most points in the half with veteran Coen Carr.

Throughout the first half, an all too familiar problem continued to rear its head, 3-point shooting. The Spartans ended the first half 0-7 from beyond the arc with seven different Spartans being unable to connect.

With the absence of 3-point shooting, MSU relied on Ward's work under the basket, Carr's high energy plays, and getting to the free throw line. Recently, the Spartans have demonstrated difficulty with increasing their free throw percentage, but ended the first half going eight-for-11 (72.7%).

Second Half

With the addition of Cooper back on the court when the team returned from the locker room, MSU started Jaxon Kohler, Jeremy Fears, Carr, and freshman Jordan Scott. Following an effortful performance against Colgate, Scott having the opportunity to start the second half Saturday night even further cements the trust Izzo has in the newcomer.

A quick loss in the second half was Carr's to foul trouble. Picking up his third foul at the 17:09 mark sent him to the bench for the Spartans. Carr did not come back out on the court until 10:24. The time difference may not seem daunting, but it has been proven thus far during the exhibition games and with the matchup against Colgate that Carr is a glue guy for MSU. Other players stepping up and being able to build and maintain a lead speaks highly to the depth MSU may be able to play with again this season.

At the 16:27 timeout the Spartans had dug themselves back to leading with plays from Kohler, Cooper, and Trey Fort. Fort was able to sink MSU's first trey, breaking the curse from the first half.

Although Fort was able to snap the 3-point drought initially, the Spartans shot seven additional attempts from outside the arc throughout the rest of the half, coming up short on all of them. Much of the play, specifically in the second half, went through the paint. It was seemingly a very deliberate plan from MSU that was executed throughout the game.

At the under eight time-out, the dynamic duo for Michigan State under the basket, Cooper and Kohler, held six points each, tying them for most in the half with 7:56 left to play.

As much as foul trouble disrupted the rotations for Michigan State, it should be noted that the Razorbacks were not immune to this problem either. Losing their own veteran player, Trevon Brazile, at the 7:37 mark.

At the final media timeout (2:51), the Spartans had begun to let the Razorbacks back into the game.

With the lead dwindled down to just one point, Arkasas' forward Nick Pringle was able to tie things up, giving the Spartans only 1:21 left in the game to secure the win.

Following in line with the of theme of last season, Michigan State was able to grind out the win from the free throw line. Buckets from Cooper and Fears sealed the deal for MSU, ending the game 69-66. The win improves Izzo's record at the Breslin Center in November to 84-1 all-time.

Final Notes and Numbers

Freshman Cam Ward cemented himself a place in the rotation this game. Ward earned his first career double-double and finished as the Spartans leading scorer with 18 points, rebounder with 10, and led MSU in steals with two. Following behind Ward, Carr put up 15 points, Kohler ended with 10, and Cooper trailed not far behind with nine. Carr and Kohler tied up with Ward for the next most team rebounds with seven apiece for all three.

As expected, Fears played the most minutes with 35 and was a key leader for MSU on the court throughout the game.

On a more abysmal note, the Spartans ended the game with a 7.1% rating from beyond the arc and hit only one 3-point bucket the entire game.

Michigan State hosts San Jose State next on Thursday Nov. 13 at the Breslin Center. The SJSU Spartans are also led by a familiar face, former Nebraska head coach Tim Miles.

Follow along here with Spartans Illustrated for more postgame coverage of MSU' win over Arkansas.