No. 11 Michigan State braces for Texas' havoc defense

No. 11 Michigan State was too physical for UCLA on Thursday night, and the Spartans will get a different kind of test on Friday in the championship game of the Las Vegas Invitational.

Michigan State, which dominated the 17th-ranked Bruins 87-67, will play Texas, which upset No. 7 North Carolina 92-89 in an earlier game at the four-team tournament at Orleans Arena. Shaka Smart's havoc defense forced 17 turnovers, which led to 31 points.

"They are athletic," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of the Longhorns. "I mean, they are as athletic as anybody. Shaka is a good friend and he's done a heck of job with that team. ... We have a lot of work to do, but we're playing in the championship game and it doesn't get any better than that."

Michigan State (4-1) led UCLA by as many as 29 points late in the first half and was never threatened after halftime. Point guard Cassius Winston had 19 points, seven assists and just one turnover.

Junior big man Nick Ward helped negate UCLA star freshman Moses Brown, who entered the game averaging 17.3 points and 12.0 rebounds. The Spartans held Brown to five points and 10 rebounds.

"I was really proud that we defended really well early and got our fast break going," Izzo said. "And that's kind of what we are. Cassius Winston was outstanding. But I think the defense was the best part of our game early."

That defense will have to deal with Texas senior guard Kerwin Roach II, who had a career-high 32 points to go with seven assists, six rebounds and four steals on Thursday. He averages a team-high 19.5 points for the 5-0 Longhorns.

Keeping up on the boards against Michigan State will be key for Texas, which lost the rebounding battle to the Tar Heels 41-32.

"We wanted to win the physicality battle, and there were times when they got us around the basket," Smart said.

"But I thought for the most part out guys fought, battled. We tried to limit them on the glass. It wasn't perfect. Our team is far from where we want to be at the end of the year, but this is a good step to prove to ourselves that we can beat a team like Carolina."

Freshman Jaxson Hayes, a 6-11 post player, has been a key member off the bench for Smart and will be needed against a typically tough Michigan State team. He set career highs with 15 points and nine rebounds against the Tar Heels, and is just scratching the surface of his potential, Smart said.

"You talking about a kid who played six minutes a game as a junior in high school, so he's really just getting going," Smart said.

Texas is holding teams to 40.5 percent shooting from the field, including 31.1 percent from 3-point range.

Michigan State has a trio of big-time scorers in Winston (17.6 points per game), guard Joshua Langford (16.4) and Ward (15.4).

Texas, which was eighth among others receiving votes in this week's AP poll, could find itself in next week's rankings, thanks to the win over North Carolina.

"I told our guys before we even came out here that when we get done with these two games, we need to get better," Smart said. "The best teams in college basketball are the ones that improve through a season. There's a lot of things we need to improve on, but it's good to get the win."