EAST LANSING >> Breslin Center was in a festive mood Saturday.

And in the spirit of the holiday season, Michigan State deemed it better to give than to receive Saturday.

Senior guard Jaden Akins scored 18, freshman guard Jase Richardson added 16 points and the Spartans showcased some exceptional and unselfish ball movement — including an early candidate for assist of the year in college basketball from Jeremy Fears Jr. — in routing Nebraska, 89-52, early Saturday afternoon.

Michigan State improved to 2-0 in Big Ten play, and 8-2 on the season.

The Spartans seized command of this one early, during a 9-0 run late in the second half that was kickstarted by Fears, the redshirt freshman guard who found himself on the seat of his pants out near the perimeter. Fears somehow found a scoring opportunity from the ground and chucked the ball high toward the paint, where sophomore forward Coen Carr snuck behind a Nebraska defender and slammed it down, bringing Breslin Center to its feet.

Michigan State’s selfless play continued into the second half, including with two nifty assists from junior forward Jaxon Kohler, one also from the ground, when he found Akins for a 3 to make it 46-33. Kohler received a nice ovation when he was subbed out, then he came back in and quickly found Richardson for a 3, to make it 60-43.

The Richardson 3 came during a 15-0 Michigan State run, which ended with the Spartans up 68-34 after back-to-back 3’s by junior guard Tre Hollomon, starting for a third straight game, and sophomore forward Xavier Booker.

Michigan State finished with 19 assists on 29 field goals, with Fears dishing out eight assists. Kohler had three assists to go with 12 rebounds and eight points. He scored the final two baskets of the first half, including one on a third effort, and then the first basket of the second half. He also had two blocks, as did Carr.

Michigan State led at halftime, 41-31, thanks to a massive edge in rebounding, 24-10.

Nebraska had cut Michigan State’s lead to 26-21, when Fears lost the handle of his dribble and went to the ground. He deftly maintained control of the possession, and found Carr for that dazzling dunk. Richardson followed that up with a 3, then made two free throws after a Nebraska flagrant foul. Fears then made a tough driving layup to cap a 9-0 Michigan State run, giving the Spartans a 35-21 lead.

Nebraska (6-2, 0-1) battled back with a 9-0 run of its own, before Kohler made back-to-back layups to end the half.

It was another balanced attack for the Michigan State offense, with 10 players scoring, after 12 players scored in the Big Ten opener against Minnesota. The Spartans were 9-for-23 (39.1%) on 3-pointers, after shooting 50% against Minnesota. The 3-point shooting is slowly becoming less of an issue. Akins was 4-for-8 on 3’s; Richardson was 2-for-3.

The Spartans shot 52% for the game, to the Cornhuskers’ 33%. Booker had 11 points, and Hollomon and Carr each added eight points.

For Nebraska, Andrew Morgan scored 14 and Brice Williams scored 11, and Morgan added seven rebounds.

Michigan State now is off for a week-and-a-half, before playing Oakland at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Dec. 17. The Spartans’ return to Big Ten play Jan. 3, at Ohio State.