No. 7 Michigan State Falls Short Against Michigan

Friday, January 30

East Lansing, Mich.

8 PM

Michigan State University

19-3,9-2Big Ten

Michigan

20-1,10-1Big Ten

Michigan

Michigan St.

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

1/30/2026 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook Michigan at Michigan St. 30 January Post-Game Quotes Michigan 83, Michigan State 71

East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State's men's basketball team fought back from a 16-point halftime deficit to take the lead in the second half before No. 3 Michigan pulled away for an 83-71 win over the Spartans on Friday.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. scored a career-high 31 points and handed out seven assists to lead the Spartans.

Four players scored in double figures, with senior forward Jaxon Kohler adding 12 points and five rebounds, junior forward Coen Carr finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds and freshman forward Jordan Scott chipped in 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.

Records
Michigan State had a seven-game win streak snapped and falls to 19-3 overall and 9-2 in the Big Ten Conference, while Michigan improves to 20-1 overall and 10-1 in league play.

Recap

The Spartans had trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and twice took leads in the second half, the last at 59-57 on a layup from Scott with 6:55 left in the game.
Michigan's Will Tschetter followed with a 3-pointer to give the Wolverines the lead for good at 60-59.
Free throws from Kohler with 4:51 left made it 62-61 and an alley-oop by Cooper with 4:18 to play cut the UM lead to 64-63.
Michigan responded with a dunk from Morez Johnson Jr. and a 3-pointer from Elliot Cadeau to push the lead to six points, 69-63, with 3:08 to play.
Free throws from Fears pulled MSU to within four points, 69-65, but the Wolverines scored six-straight points and took a 75-65 on free throws from Yaxel Lendeborg with 1:07 left and the visitors hit eight more over the final 44 seconds to close out the win.
The Spartans fell behind early in the first half and went into the half with a 16-points deficit, 42-26.
Carr scored the first two baskets of the second half to ignite the Spartans and Fears scored on a fast break layup and free throw at 16:21, pulling MSU to within 46-38.
Fears capped of a 15-2 run over the first 4:07 of the second half, getting MSU to within five points of the lead, 46-41.
Michigan pushed the lead back to 48-41 but the Spartans used a 16-7 run over 7:28, tied the game at 55-all on a 3-pointer from Kohler and took a 57-55 lead on a fast break layup from Fears with 7:27 to play.
Scott's layup with 6:55 to play gave MSU a 59-57 lead, its last of the game.
Michigan State struggled from the field and turned the ball over 11 times in the first half as Michigan led by 18 points (40-22) before going into the break ahead 42-26.

Key Stats

Michigan State shot just 36.7 percent from the floor (22-of-60), including 26.9 percent (7-of-26) in the first half.
The Spartans hit just four shots from 3-point land and finished the game shooting 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from distance.
MSU committed 14 turnovers, including 11 in the first half.

Notes

Michigan State trails the all-time series with Michigan, 105-92.
- The loss ended a four-game win streak in the series for the Spartans.
- This was the first win for UM at the Breslin Center since Jan. 13. 2018.
Izzo's career record is now 756-305 in his 31st year at the helm of the MSU program.
MSU has an all-time record of 456-211 in the month of December.
- The Spartans have an all-time record of 175-43 under Izzo in December, including a 121-17 record at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans have an all-time record of 498-78 at home since the Breslin Center opened in 1989, including a 266-61 record in league play.
MSU is 11-2 at home this year.
The Spartans are 4-1 when trailing at the half.
- The 16-point deficit was the largest of the season.
MSU scored 71 points, the first time this season losing when scoring at least 70 points (6-1).
The Spartans were out-shot by Michigan (44.1% to 36.7%), just the second time this season not out-shooting their opponent.
MSU was equaled in rebounds by Michigan (36-36), just the second time this season the Spartans did not win the battle of the boards.
MSU shot just 36.7 percent from the floor (22-of-60), only the third time this season shooting below 40.0 percent.
The Spartans shot 17.4 percent from 3-point land (4-of-23), the second-lowest output of the season.
The 83 points scored by Michigan were the second-most allowed by MSU this year and just the fourth opponent to score more than 70 points.
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored a career-high 31 points, handed out seven assists, grabbed five rebounds and had four steals.
- Fears is the first Michigan State player to score at least 30 points since Tyson Walker scored 30 at Indiana on March 10, 2024.
- He has re-set his career-high scoring mark seven times this season.
- Fears has scored in double figures 16 times this year and 28 for his career.
- This was the 12th time this season he has handed out at least nine assists.
- Fears has led the team in assists 22 times this year and 44 for his career.
- He led the team in scoring for the eighth time this season.
- Fears has led MSU in scoring the last three games and five of the last six overall.
- He also tied a career-high of 35 minutes played, previously set three times, the last at Rutgers.
Carson Cooper scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his second double-double of this year, and his career.
- This was his 13th game in double figures this year and the 17th of his career.
- He has three games this year with at least 10 boards and six for his career.
- He led the team in rebounding for the seventh time this season and the 23rd of his career.
- Cooper's 36 minutes played were also a career-best
Jaxon Kohler finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
- He has scored in double figures in 20 games this year and 31 for his career.
Coen Carr scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- This was his 12th game in double figures this season and 26th of his career.
Jordan Scott scored 10 points, grabbed four rebounds and had two steals.
- This was his second career game in double figures.