Thursday, November 27
Fort Myers, Fla
4:30 PM
Michigan State University
vs
North Carolina
Spartans Set to Face North Carolina on Thanksgiving Day in Fort Myers Tip-Off
11/26/2025 6:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Michigan State's men's basketball team plays North Carolina on Thursday, Nov. 27 in the second round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division (4:30 p.m., FOX).
MSU is coming off an 89-56 win over East Carolina on Tuesday, while UNC opened the tournament with an 85-70 win over St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. The last time MSU played UNC was in the 2024 Maui Invitational – 4,700 miles away from Fort Myers – a 94-91 overtime win for the Spartans.
Thursday afternoon's game will air live on FOX, with Adam Amin and Jim Jackson calling all of the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play, Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst and Zach Surdenik as the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 136 or 195 on SiriusXM or on the SiriusXM app.
About the Spartans
MSU is coming off an 89-56 win over East Carolina on Tuesday, while UNC opened the tournament with an 85-70 win over St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. The last time MSU played UNC was in the 2024 Maui Invitational – 4,700 miles away from Fort Myers – a 94-91 overtime win for the Spartans.
Thursday afternoon's game will air live on FOX, with Adam Amin and Jim Jackson calling all of the action. The Spartan Media Network radio call can be heard state-wide and on the web at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman handling the play-by-play, Matt Steigenga serving as the color analyst and Zach Surdenik as the studio host. The game can also be heard on channels 136 or 195 on SiriusXM or on the SiriusXM app.
About the Spartans
- Michigan State finished the 2024-25 season with a 30-7 overall record, including a 17-3 mark in the Big Ten Conference, winning the league's regular season title by three games ... It was the 11th time Big Ten regular season title under Head Coach Tom Izzo ... The Spartans were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 27th-straight season and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time, finishing the year ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25.
- Through six games, the Spartans have four players scoring in double figures, seven averaging at least 6.0 ppg and eight averaging at least 15.0 minutes.
- Jaxon Kohler leads the team in scoring with 15.3 ppg and tops the team with 9.5 rpg (7th B1G, #39 nationally) ... Kohler, who has two double-doubles, grabbed 18 rebounds against San Jose State, the most by an MSU player since Miles Bridges had 21 against Savannah State in 2018 … He had 20 points against Kentucky, his first career 20-point game.
- Jeremy Fears Jr., who leads the team with 30.5 minutes played, is third on the team with 10.8 ppg and is handing out 10.2 assists per game, leading all of Division I.
- Coen Carr, one of the most athletic players in all of college basketball, is second on the team with 11.2 ppg, fourth on the team with 5.3 rpg and 2.5 apg in 28.5 mpg.
- Carson Cooper is playing a career-high 23.2 minutes, is fourth on the team with 10.0 ppg and second with 5.8 rpg.
- Trey Fort is tallying 7.2 ppg and Kur Teng, who scored a career-high 15 points against Kentucky, is averaging 6.0 ppg.
- Cam Ward is fifth on the team with 8.7 ppg and third with 5.7 rpg and Jordan Scott adds 3.0 ppg and 3.8 rpg.
- Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 16 points off the bench and No. 11 Michigan State opened up a 23-point lead at halftime en route to an 89-56 win over East Carolina in the first round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Beach Division on Tuesday.
- Ugochukwu hit 6-of-7 shots from the floor, including 3-of-4 from outside the arc, while adding two rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead four players in double figures.
- Jaxon Kohler had 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds, Coen Carr added 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals and Carson Cooper finished with 10 points and a game-high eight rounds.
- Jeremy Fears Jr. added six points and a game-high nine assists.
- A win on Thursday against North Carolina would give Michigan State its first unbeaten November since the 2015-16 season.
- MSU has had only three unbeaten November's under Head Coach Tom Izzo (2015-16, 2013-14 and 2000-01).
- North Carolina enters Thursday's game with a 6-0 overall record following an 85-70 win over St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
- The Tar Heels, ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 17 in the ESPN Coaches poll, won five games at home (Central Arkansas, Kansas, Radford, North Carolina Central and Navy) before beating the Bonnies.
- Freshman forward Caleb Wilson is one of four players scoring in double figures for the Tar Heels ... In addition to Wilson (6-10), the Tar Heels have 6-10 junior forward Jarin Stevenson (8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and 7-0 redshirt junior center Henri Veesaar (16.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 10 blocks) in the starting lineup.
- The Tar Heels have scored at least 85 points five times this season and rank No. 23 nationally in scoring margin.
- UNC ranks No. 21 in the country in rebounding margin (+12.7) and No. 5 in the nation in defensive rebounds per game.
- This is the third-straight year Michigan State will play North Carolina, the last two in the NCAA Tournament (2024) and the Maui Invitational (2024).
- North Carolina holds a 13-5 series lead over Michigan State ... The Spartans won the last meeting, 94-91 in overtime at the Maui Invitational and has won two of the last three games.
- MSU and UNC have faced off six times in the NCAA Tournament, twice in the Final Four ... The Tar Heels were victorious in both the 2005 National Semifinal and 2009 National Championship game.
- The teams also played in the 1957 Final Four, a 74-70 UNC win in triple overtime.
- MSU won the first-ever meeting, 53-48, on Feb. 14, 1948 in North Carolina.
- The Spartans have played all but four teams in the league (Charlotte, East Carolina, North Texas and UTSA) The Spartans won the last game played, 83-76, at the Breslin Center on Dec. 4, 2020.
Players Mentioned
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