EAST LANSING - To prove the feud is officially over, Tom Izzo kissed Nick Ward and made up on Thursday.

As Ward fielded questions from reporters following practice at the Breslin Center, his coach walked up beside him, grabbed his head and kissed his forehead.

"I still love Nick," Izzo said as he walked away while Ward smiled and laughed.

The Spartans Hall of Fame coach and his sophomore forward did everything possible on Thursday to show that their very public disagreement from two days ago was officially over.

"Everybody has bad days," Ward said. "The other day was one of those days. We'll move on from it."

Against Rutgers, Izzo benched Ward for all but one minute of the second half. Izzo was frustrated with Ward's defense and his focus in the first half, and when he challenged Ward at halftime, the coach didn't like how his player responded.

While Michigan State struggled in the final 20 minutes to a 10-point win over the Scarlet Knights, Ward looked disengaged on the bench. Afterward, Ward publicly defended his defensive play this season.

"Can you guys name a big that killed me this year?" Ward said in the locker room on Tuesday. "Can you name a big that scored over eight points on me this year? Have I fouled out of any games?"

The two left the Rutgers Athletic Center seemingly still at odds. Izzo said on Thursday that by later that same night, both had moved past their spat. Texts had been exchanged, including one from Ward wishing Izzo safe travels on a recruiting trip.

By Thursday, they were both all smiles again as they met with the media and offered reassurances that the disagreement was short-lived.

Ward became the latest in a long line of players to receive such a treatment from Izzo, who admitted the extended benching pushed the envelope but defended it as a tactic to keep one of his best players focused.

"My relationship with guys has been, I guess you could say adversarial, I think it's unique," Izzo said. "And when I say unique, I don't mind if a player gets mad at me, because I get mad at them. The respect factor is I understand it. If it goes too far then I do what I have to do."

Ward, for his part, said that when he reviewed film of his first-half play, he saw improvements to be made in defense and effort.

"I could have done things different," Ward said. "I could have gone a little harder."

Ward also said he became frustrated on the offensive end of the court. Rutgers became the first team this year to double-team Ward, something he admitted wasn't expecting to happen.

Ward said he will try to see the tactic as a compliment in the future. On Tuesday, though, it was just another thing to get frustrated about.

"He ain't the greatest guy at handling those kind of things yet, but that's part of his growth process," Izzo said.

Spartans point guard Cassius Winston was also benched for part of the second half, albeit not for as long as Ward. Winston was benched for more than seven minutes to start the second half, but returned to hit two 3-pointers in the final four minutes to help ice the game.

Winston said he understood after watching film that his body language was an issue.

"The way I was perceived, it didn't look like I was ready to play, it didn't look like I was ready to go," Winston said. "That was the biggest thing, because this team feeds off me, it feeds off of my energy. That's going to be huge going down the road."