Drew Neitzel had been the scoring option for Michigan State in the past. In the opening round against the Temple Owls, suddenly Neitzel couldn’t find…well, anything. Good thing for him he has teammates now that can score quite a bit. The Spartans took control in the second half against a spirited but outmanned Temple team and won 72-61 in their opening game of the NCAA tournament.

Raymar Morgan scorched the nets for 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting,  and 5 total players scored at least 8 points or more (Neitzel wasn’t one of them) as Michigan State looked very much like the team many thought they should be at the beginning of the season. And guess what, folks? They held on to the ball! I know, huge news! The Spartans only committed 12 turnovers in what can be directly attributed to their success, along with clutch free throw shooting. While I thought they would win the game, I really didn’t think the game would be almost boring to watch in the second half, but that’s what MSU does–execute, execute, execute.

But now they have bigger things to worry about–in the form of the Pittsburgh Panthers. Pitt, who arguably is playing the best basketball in the country over the last week, dismantled Oral Roberts in the first round and is absolutely brimming with confidence. The Spartans will have their hands full with Sam Young and company, and the defensive mindsets of both teams may mean that if one team can go on a scoring streak that it could be the difference in the game. If the Spartans want to win the game, Neitzel absolutely must be better than he was against Temple.