NEW YORK -- It was hardly the type of performance that left anyone at Madison Square Garden salivating, or handing Kentucky a spot in the national championship game. Sure, Malik Monk made shots from deep, De'Aaron Fox displayed his break-neck speed, and Kentucky's veteran power guard Isaiah Briscoe imposed his will on Michigan State.

Kentucky wound up beating a Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State team 69-48 in the opening game of the Champions Classic.

Ho-hum.

Malik Monk scored a game-high 23 points and hit seven 3-pointers in Kentucky's win. Mark Cornelison/Lexington Herald-Leader

This wasn't exactly a typical Michigan State team. Down a couple of frontcourt guys, and forced to start a former walk-on at center, the Spartans were thoroughly overmatched. Kentucky had the clear talent advantage, and just about every other edge one could imagine coming into this game. Even travel. Kentucky played its first two games at Rupp while Michigan State lost a close game Friday night in Hawaii.

The Wildcats, despite their size advantage and also far more depth up front than their opponents, were outrebounded by the smaller Spartans. Freshman big man Bam Adebayo struggled on the offensive end, and was in foul trouble. Derek Willis was a complete nonfactor. Isaac Humphries looked lost at times.

That's good news for those in Lexington. This team still has plenty of work to do. John Calipari's squad is, no surprise, young. There are five freshmen in the rotation -- and that bodes well as the season progresses.

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But there are certainly concerns. Long-distance shooting could wind up being the Achilles' heel for UK. The streaky Monk made all seven of Kentucky's 3-pointers, and the rest of the team went 0-for-10. Monk and Briscoe combined to score 44 of the Wildcats' 69 points on Tuesday night.

Calipari has raved about the potential of this season's group on the defensive side of the ball, and UK held Michigan State to 32 percent shooting and just 19 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

This game was never in question, and while normally a 21-point victory over an Izzo-coached team would be cause for celebration, that shouldn't be the case after this one.