UCLA, Michigan State feature high-scoring offenses

Two of the nation's highest-scoring offenses through the early going meet Thursday in the Las Vegas Invitational.

No. 11 Michigan State (3-1) and No. 17 UCLA (4-0) have had no trouble putting up points so far. The Spartans come into the Thanksgiving night game at T-Mobile Arena averaging 93.5 points per game and ranked 10th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.com metrics.

Michigan State hit the century mark for the second time in the young season on Sunday, blasting Tennessee Tech 101-33.

The low defensive yield marked a nice change of pace for coach Tom Izzo, whose team opened the season giving up 92 and 82 points against Kansas and Florida Gulf Coast.

"We got a little sloppy in those games," Izzo said in the press conference, following Michigan State's win over Tennessee Tech. "To the players' credit and my staff, I think we worked on some things harder, we talked about defending without fouling, we talked about not giving up those straight line drives."

Izzo also noted the drop-off in competition facing Tennessee Tech, a team ranked No. 338 in adjusted offensive efficiency. That won't be the case against UCLA.

The Bruins come into Thursday's matchup 34th in adjusted offensive efficiency, thus far striking a potent balance between the slashing provided by guard Kris Wilkes and the interior presence offered by center Moses Brown. Wilkes is averaging 17.5 points per game, with Brown adding 17.3.

The duo has been key to UCLA hitting at least 91 points in its first three games, and 80 its most recent time out. However, the Bruins' last outing may be a cause for concern before playing two marquee opponents in Las Vegas.

UCLA let a 24-point lead slip to three in Monday's 80-65 win over Presbyterian. Both Brown and Wilkes were held to season-lows of 10 and 12 points.

"(A lead of) 41-19 and we were so dominant in the first half, defensively," Bruins coach Steve Alford said in his postgame press conference. "But we tried telling them at halftime: some of that was fool's gold, because they missed a lot of open looks off of our turnovers."

UCLA committed 21 turnovers in all, negating a 54-32 advantage on the boards. Presbyterian might have been closer down the stretch, if not for a dismal 3-of-22 shooting from behind the 3-point line in the first half.

In contrast, Michigan State comes in shooting 37 percent from long range as a team, with its two primary shooters -- Cassius Winston and Joshua Langford -- hitting at 42.9 and 40.7 percent clips, respectively.

The Spartans guards feed off the inside presence of Nick Ward. The junior forward comes in averaging 15.3 points per game and shooting 62.5 percent from inside the arc.

"Nick is almost a for-sure bucket every time," said Langford. "It's good for him to get his game going before we start these other games."

The veteran leadership of Ward provides an intriguing counter to UCLA's Brown. The ballyhooed Bruins freshman has been excellent to start the season, connecting from the floor at 78.9 percent and averaging 12 rebounds per game. But his production has come against overmatched competition.