Spartans dominate Detroit Mercy, fueled by Coen Carr's electrifying athleticism and Jeremy Fears Jr.'s assists. Izzo's team shows early March readiness.
The Michigan State Spartans continue to impress. Whether they’re taking down top-15 SEC teams or facing programs that endured a 27-game losing streak just over a year ago, Izzo’s Spartans simply show up to win.
This time, it was the lowly Detroit Mercy Titans trying to stand in the way. With former Tom Izzo assistant Mike Montgomery now leading the Titans, you knew they’d bring a little extra bite. Getting a win against your former boss is deeply satisfying—but Izzo remained the Jedi master. And for a team with deep March and April ambitions, this matchup was just a fly on the windshield.
Game Overview
This one was over from the jump. Michigan State opened with a 10–0 run and never looked back. The three-pointers didn’t fall quite like they did in the Kentucky game, but they were falling enough. And every time Detroit Mercy strung together a few good possessions, Michigan State calmly answered with dominance, taking a 16-point lead into halftime.
The second half was more of the same. The Spartans saw the floor beautifully, moved the ball with confidence, and heated up even more from behind the arc. The leaders stepped up physically, crashed the boards, and knocked down shots.
Then came the moment that nearly cracked the Breslin rafters.
With eight minutes left, Jeremy Fears Jr. floated a lob that seemed to scrape the ceiling. As the ball hung in the air, Coen Carr materialized from nowhere—meeting it at the peak and hammering it straight down. Just another Friday for Carr’s absurd athleticism, but the dunk sent East Lansing into a frenzy. It may have registered as a minor earthquake with how loud the building exploded.
After the game, Izzo summed up the connection simply: “Him and Jeremy are lethal on that lob stuff.”
MSU kept bullying the Titans from there. Jaxon Kohler added a big dunk of his own, the threes continued to drop for a second straight game, and scout-team legend Nick Sanders came in late to bury a three—much to the delight of his teammates.
Carson Cooper joked afterward: “We said we were going to beat him up if he came in one of these games like this and didn’t get aggressive like he does on scout team… he scores so much on scout and he hits shots on scout team.”
Jeremy Fears Jr. recorded another double-double and still leads the entire NCAA in assists per game (10.3)—the only player in the nation averaging double digits. Even scarier? Izzo said, “I think he’s just starting to come into his own.”
But it wasn’t a perfect night. And with Izzo, perfection is always the goal.
“We airballed some wide-open shots, I mean airballed them,” he said. “If you ask me, the guy that should be upset is Fears, not me. He would have had 15, 16 assists tonight if they just hit regular shots.”
Michigan State Player Stats
Starters
- Jeremy Fears Jr. — 18 pts / 11 ast / 2 stl / 2–4 3PT
- Coen Carr — 13 pts / 7 reb / 2 blk / 1–3 3PT
- Jaxon Kohler — 13 pts / 4 reb / 1–4 3PT
- Carson Cooper — 12 pts / 6 reb / 1 stl
- Trey Fort — 5 pts / 2 ast / 1–2 3PT / 1 blk
Bench
- Cam Ward — 5 pts / 8 reb / 1 stl
- Kur Teng — 2 pts / 2 reb / 0–4 3PT
- Jesse McCulloch — 5 pts / 6 reb / 2 blk
- Jordan Scott — 2 pts / 3 reb
- Divine Ugochukwu — 6 pts / 1 ast
- Denham Wojcik — 2 ast
- Nick Sanders — 3 pts / 1 reb / 1–2 3PT
Upcoming Matchups
Michigan State is enjoying a 5–0 start, but the tests get much tougher next week.
Two Carolina teams come to town:
- Tuesday: East Carolina
- Thursday: North Carolina — the matchup everyone has circled
A perfect way to cap November.
And as we start singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” the Spartans will open December with home games against Iowa and then Duke.
Per usual, Izzo built a schedule full of early-season gauntlets—and we’re about to see some epic college basketball matchups.