Michigan State Basketball: Miles Bridges dunks over Nick Ward (Video)

Michigan State basketball caught fire early against Notre Dame on Thursday night, including Miles Bridges who dunked over Nick Ward.

One team came out ready to play in Thursday night’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge in East Lansing, and it wasn’t No. 5 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were given a wake-up call by the Spartans early on as Michigan State had a 20-point lead 10 minutes into the game.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: Preview, prediction vs. Notre Dame

The Spartans went into the half with a 20-point advantage and Miles Bridges arguably had the highlight of the half: an alley-oop from half court over a teammate.

Just watch Bridges rise up for a half-court alley-oop from Cassius Winston and thrown down over Nick Ward.

Clearly Bridges isn’t human. Athlete doesn’t even begin to describe Bridges as he continues to wow fans, opposing players and coaches and NBA scouts. His teammates have grown to expect these kinds of highlights from the All-Big Ten talent and that’s why he’s a front-runner for national player of the year.

Not many players can catch a half-court alley-oop, let alone throw it down over a 6-foot-8 teammate as well as a defender. That concentration is impressive as are the instincts to be able to time the jump just right, rip it from Ward and the defender and throw it down.

Next: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions vs. Notre Dame

At the half, Michigan State led Notre Dame 46-26 and completely out-played the No. 5 Fighting Irish in every aspect of the game. Besides the lopsided score, the Spartans were also out-rebounding the Irish 24-11 at the break. Tom Izzo has to be a happy camper, even if he doesn’t show it.