A nail-biting showdown. Duke battles Michigan State down to the wire in a thrilling contest decided in the final moments.
As Saturday continued to move, time stood still in East Lansing. All eyes were on the 7th-ranked Michigan State Spartans defending home court against the 4th-ranked Duke Blue Devils. A brutally cold day in Michigan was on fire inside the Breslin Center. The crowd was as loud as ever—and the teams even better.
Michigan State held a three-point lead, 34–31, as both teams headed to the locker room. It was destined to be one of the greatest second halves we’ve seen in some time—a battle between two juggernauts trading blows all through the first half.
Second Half Start
As the second half kicked off, both teams understood how important this win could be and came out firing, trading buckets on their opening possessions. Then came a stretch of missed shots from both sides—the iron helping Duke, the sideline hurting MSU. Jaxon Kohler missed a three, but Cameron Boozer picked up his third foul on the next trip. Jordan Scott missed his shot, and the game slowed into a cold spell matching the weather outside.
Finally, four minutes into the half, Duke scored to tie it at 36–36. Coen Carr responded, driving hard and drawing a foul.
36–36 Tie — 15:57 Remaining
Out of the break, Carr split a pair of free throws to give MSU the lead. Boozer answered with a smooth layup to put Duke back in front. Cam Ward, still clearly bothered by that wrist injury, came up short on a reverse layup attempt. On the defensive end, Jordan Scott swatted a ball out of bounds and continued to look nothing like a freshman.
MSU found Carr inside for a hook to regain the lead, but Duke quickly took it back, 40–39. Then Scott delivered, burying a three to electrify the Breslin and put MSU back on top. Moments later, after an offensive foul on Duke, MSU turned into the Harlem Globetrotters—a between-the-legs pass, a no-look dish, a cross-court swing, and then Scott burying another three. Breslin was shaking, and Duke needed a timeout.
45–40 Michigan State — 12:43 Remaining
As the Izzone belted out Seven Nation Army, Duke attacked immediately for a layup. MSU missed, Duke hit a three, and just like that the momentum vanished.
On MSU’s next possession, Cooper appeared to be fouled, but the referees kept the whistle swallowed for the Spartans while calling nearly everything for Duke. Tom Izzo looked like Anger from Inside Out, face red and steaming. The whistles—or lack of them—were turning this into an MSU vs. Everybody type of game.
45–45 Tie — 11:42 Remaining
Duke hit one of two free throws, then tapped out the rebound for an offensive board—something MSU couldn’t afford. They missed the second-chance shot, and Cooper grabbed the board and scored on the other end. The ninth lead change of the night.
Boozer kept punishing MSU inside, grabbing offensive rebounds and tallying a double-double before the midpoint of the half. He had 14 second-half points; MSU had 13. Still, it was a one-point game.
Kohler’s hook fell, MSU got a big block, and Carr scored again to push the lead to 51–48. Duke air-balled on the next possession, but MSU couldn’t capitalize. Duke attacked again, drawing a foul on a hard fall involving Fears.
51–48 Michigan State — 7:49 Remaining
After review, no flagrant. Duke missed both free throws, then Boozer committed his fourth foul on the rebound. Fears pointed to the crowd, feeding off the noise of the Breslin. MSU missed a three, Duke went back to the line, and again split the pair.
Michigan State’s shooting went cold at the wrong time. After a turnover, Duke tied the game at 51. Scott missed a three, but Cooper soared for a massive offensive rebound and slammed it home. Breslin roared again.
But the whistles returned. Duke hit another free throw, missed the second, and MSU clung to a one-point lead. Both teams were in full battle mode now—diving, colliding, fighting for position. After multiple defensive stands, Duke finally hit a three to take a 55–53 lead with three minutes left.
MSU missed, Duke slowed the pace for the first time all game. MSU snagged a rebound on a miss, and Izzo called timeout.
55–53 Duke — 2:54 Remaining
The Spartans executed a well-drawn play, but Duke clogged the paint and Carr couldn’t get to the rim. He drew a foul, missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Duke controlled the rebound.
Duke missed a three, and Jeremy Fears—despite being the smallest on the floor—out-jumped two Blue Devils for a huge rebound. He was thrown to the court and earned two free throws. He buried both to tie the game at 55.
Duke drove low and again earned a questionable whistle. They hit both free throws. Fears missed a running floater, MSU couldn’t corral the rebound, and Duke maintained a two-point edge. On the next possession, Fears fouled a three-point shooter. Duke hit all three. A five-point hole with under a minute to go.
60–55 Duke — 53.4 Seconds Remaining
Out of the timeout, Fears delivered his 12th assist, and MSU scored to cut it to three. They needed the biggest stop of the season.
After a Duke timeout, Boozer drew the defense and kicked it out. Duke’s three-point attempt hit the rim, bounced up, kissed the air, and fell straight back through. A dagger.
MSU raced down the court, got the ball to Kohler, and he delivered through contact. Boozer fouled out with 11 seconds left, and Kohler converted the and-one. MSU fouled immediately, but Duke knocked down both free throws to go up five.
MSU’s final attempt missed, and Duke walked away with a 66–60 win.
FINAL: Duke 66, Michigan State 60
Michigan State played strong and tough but came up just short. Fears and Kohler were outstanding, but there was plenty left on the table from Carr and Cooper. Turnovers hurt. Missed shots late hurt even more.
Duke closed on a 15–7 run in the final 5:17, taking control when the Spartans needed clutch scoring the most. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Spartan fans, but the season is young. Early battles against top teams make you better. Izzo will make sure this team learns from this one and is ready for redemption if the moment comes.
Michigan State falls to 8–1. Duke improves to 10–0.