Coen Carr's electrifying dunks ignited the Spartans, but turnovers and Nebraska's relentless offense sealed their fate in a deafening clash.
A game being dubbed the biggest in Nebraska history meant only one thing: a bizarre, borderline unhinged atmosphere in Lincoln. The Husker fans did not disappoint. A deafening howl swallowed the arena, the kind of noise you feel in your chest, and the energy was unmistakable to every player on the floor.
To kick things off, the Spartans couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat, opening the game 0-for-5 before Kur Teng finally got them on the board. What followed was four minutes of blue-collar basketball—won on the glass, fueled by effort, and steadied by smart, simple plays.
With a villain-esque noise level pouring down from the stands, there was only one man the Spartans could lean on—like the Avengers turning to Thor when everything is falling apart—and that man was Coen Carr. No mask. Asgardian-level hops. Carr detonated a Hulkish alley-oop that sent a wave of stunned silence rippling through the Nebraska crowd. Then, on the very next possession, he jumped clean out of the building to meet a Husker at the rim, packing his lunch and sending him off like it was his first day of third grade.
Turnovers have been the bane of Tom Izzo’s existence throughout the 2025–26 season, and they weren’t magically cured by any New Year’s wishes. The Spartans coughed it up eight times in the first 12 minutes, compared to Nebraska’s three. That sloppiness, paired with the relentless crowd noise, kept the Huskers hanging around, and their early success from beyond the arc briefly handed them a few leads.
Late in the first half, the three-point shot became the norm. Nebraska and Michigan State traded threes like Pokémon cards in 1999. With Divine Ugochukwu sidelined due to illness, the burden shifted to the other guards—and both Kur Teng and Trey Fort answered the call, knocking down key threes before the break.
The Spartans didn’t just need production from their backup guards; they needed help from anyone willing to raise a hand. Nebraska’s Rienk Mast, who entered the night averaging a team-high 16.5 points per game, came more than ready. Mast drilled five of his seven three-point attempts in the first half, and with every make, the volume inside the arena cranked up another notch.
Luckily, when one Avenger is battling on one end of the floor, another is ready to step up—and this time it was the Kohler-Bear. Kohler knocked down all four of his three-point attempts in the first half, tying a career high for threes made in a single half. The Spartans needed every superhero they had on the roster tonight, and through 20 minutes, it had been a full-blown showdown: Avengers vs. Victor Von Mast.
Nebraska’s defense swarmed like Ultron’s robots anytime the Spartans tried to feed the post. Like a wall of mosquitoes in late spring, Husker defenders collapsed on every green jersey within seconds of a touch. Michigan State saw this exact look in the previous game against Cornell and responded with brilliant second-half adjustments. If history is any indication, the chess match was far from over.
As the second half tipped off, any whistle that went against Nebraska had the sold-out crowd teetering on the edge of revolt. The atmosphere was electric—palpable, suffocating. You could feel the pressure building, but it wasn’t on Michigan State. It was on the Huskies. Their fans felt it, smelled it, and demanded it. All the Spartans had to do was stay calm and play their game, but with limited scoring outside of Kohler since the opening minutes, the margin for error was shrinking fast.
With every tick of the clock, each possession felt like the possession. Nebraska continued to live and die by the three—dying more often than living—but Michigan State kept bailing them out. Every Husker miss seemed to be answered by a Spartan turnover. Unforced mistakes piled up: a sliding pivot foot, a toe on the sideline. The Spartans, who average 11 turnovers per game, had already committed 16 before the 12-minute mark of the second half.
The Spartans had four straight empty possessions, all ending in turnovers, with Wojiack at the center of the storm—and it was as ugly as your in-laws telling you they’re coming to stay for a week. Tom Izzo was redder than Santa Claus’ suit and wasted no time getting Fears back into the game. This wasn’t on Wojiack alone—these were unforced, boneheaded mistakes up and down the lineup—but it was time to put the keys back in the hands of the leader.
The question every Spartan fan was asking: was it too late?
The crowd was back to glass-shattering levels, and the Michigan State offense looked as dull as a butter knife trying to cut through an oak tree. Nothing sparked momentum. At one point, the Spartans trailed by nine with just under half of the second half remaining, turned it over for the 17th time, and went more than six minutes without a field goal.
Then, finally, a crack.
As Nebraska buried a three to extend the lead to nine, a Husker barked a word in Fears’ direction—earning Michigan State two free throws. Fears calmly buried both, retained possession, and the Spartans were finally able to chip into the deficit, the first hint that momentum might be shifting.
Nebraska’s defense, confident after holding MSU scoreless for seven minutes, began to overplay. That aggression caught up with them, sending Fears to the line for six straight free throws—six makes. Kohler and Teng followed with threes of their own, and just like that, the once-daunting nine-point deficit vanished. The game was knotted at 50.
Now every basket carried the weight of the world. And it was Kur Teng who answered the call.
With five minutes remaining and already four threes on the night, Teng buried another to give Michigan State the lead—and in doing so, sucked the oxygen straight out of the building.
As the clock crept under three minutes, every empty possession felt like letting your entire family down—and there were plenty of them. The game sat tied at 55 as time continued to bleed away. The crowd, as exhausted as the players on the floor, still poured out everything it had. If your TV volume was turned up, it felt like you were sitting in the arena.
Mast matched that energy with a pulsing three-point shot that drilled the net like he was searching for oil. Michigan State answered with just one of two free throws from Cooper. Nebraska led by two with 60 seconds remaining.
Mast had another chance to extend the lead, but his three came up short. It was Spartan ball with 50 seconds to play, trailing by two. Yet the theme of the night reared its ugly head again: Fears dribbled off his leg for Michigan State’s 19th turnover of the game.
Nebraska needed just one shot to seal it, but came up empty twice. MSU regained possession with 12 seconds remaining, and Tom Izzo chose not to call a timeout. As the clock ticked down, the Spartans looked lost. Kur Teng swung the ball to Carson Cooper, who drove two Cooper-sized steps and launched a last-second shot. It hit the backboard and bounced away, but Cooper drew a foul on the attempt—earning two free throws with 0.7 seconds left.
He missed the first. On the second, the Spartans tried a deliberate miss, hoping for a tip-in, but with 0.7 seconds left, there was no connection. Cooper jumped the gun, the buzzer sounded, and Michigan State fell just short, 58–56.
The Spartans move to 12–2 overall and 2–1 in conference play, while Nebraska extends its nation-leading winning streak to 14 straight games, improving to 14–0 and 3–0 in conference.