Taking Care of Business: Cam Ward and the Spartans shine in latest victory over Kentucky
"We came out here and we handled business," Cam Ward said. He lead the freshman group with eight points and four rebounds in 18 minutes of action at the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Michigan State men’s basketball is off to its first 4-0 start since the 2020-2021 season — with resume-building wins against two top-15 teams so far this month.
The Spartans handled Arkansas (No. 14) in a 69-66 win on Nov. 8, and followed that up with dominant 83-66 victory over Kentucky (No. 12) on Nov. 18. MSU also had wins over Colgate and San Jose State to begin the 2025-2026 campaign.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo looks to have his squad prepared for the rest of the difficult non-conference schedule before Big Ten play officially starts — including a matchup with North Carolina (No. 18) before the early part of the Big Ten slate begins on Dec. 2.
Izzo’s team is coming together quickly this season, led by senior captains Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, junior Coen Carr and redshirt sophomore Jeremy Fears Jr. But there’s another piece to the puzzle that opposing teams are struggling with lately — how to guard Izzo’s new guys.
With what appears to be another deep roster for the 2025-2026 season, Michigan State is sharing minutes in all positions — including the freshmen.
The Spartans have three redshirt freshmen and two true freshmen on this year’s roster:
Redshirt freshman center Jesse McCulloch (Cleveland, Ohio)
True freshman guard/forward Jordan Scott (Reston, Virginia)
True freshman forward Cam Ward (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
Redshirt freshman forward Brennan Walton (Okemos, Michigan)
Redshirt freshman Colin Walton (Okemos, Michigan)
As McCulloch, Scott and Ward all contribute with increasing minutes, their regular rotation coupled with Izzo’s schematics supplement their coach’s unique recipe for success. Preparing for a difficult schedule has also strengthened the skillsets for Izzo’s latest team additions.
And for some new players, “big stage” basketball can be daunting — like the annual State Farm Champions Classic games at Madison Square Garden.
The Nov. 18 event hosted four top-25 teams this year:
Duke (No. 5)
Kentucky (No. 12),
Michigan State (No. 17)
Kansas (No. 24).
While MSU took care of Kentucky, Duke also beat its opponent (Kansas) on Tuesday — and will meet the Spartans at the Breslin Center on Dec. 6 for another top-25 showdown.
But these elements don’t always intimidate everyone. Beating Kentucky was a target that Michigan State kept close on its radar — and for true freshman Cam Ward, this game was just business as usual.
“I think that’s the biggest thing I can say — we came out here and we handled business," Ward said. "That’s what we wanted to do from the jump — take care of the ball and take care of the boards like we did."
