Malik Monk – photo by Walter Cornett
One of the Kentucky freshmen stepped up big from the outside while the rest of the Wildcats took care of things with defense.
Malik Monk’s 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting from 3-point range and the second-ranked Wildcats’ defense that held No. 13 Michigan State to 32.8 percent shooting combined for a 69-48 victory Tuesday night in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
“These guys took some pride defensively here,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “Michigan State they run great stuff. They iso and do things that forced us to prepare beyond where we are.”
The Wildcats (3-0) averaged 90 points in their first two games but this time it was defense that did it as the Spartans (0-2) shot 32.8 percent from the field (20 of 61) including 5 for 26 (19.2 percent) from beyond the arc.
