Spartans Fall to UConn in East Regional Semifinal, 67-63

Friday, March 27

Washington, D.C.

9:45 P.M.

Michigan State University

(2) Connecticut

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

3/28/2026 12:27:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook Michigan State vs UConn NCAAT March 27, 2026 UConn 67, Michigan State 63

WASHINGTON – Third-seeded Michigan State nearly completed a historic comeback, but ultimately fell short to second-seeded UConn, 67-63, Friday night at Capital One Arena in an East Regional Semifinal.

Trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half and eight at halftime, the Spartans battled back and took a 45-44 lead on a 3-point play by Jaxon Kohler at the 10:06 mark in the second half.

UConn went back up by seven points at 56-49 with 5:10 left, but again MSU rallied and cut the deficit to one point on several occasions in the closing minutes. Jeremy Fears Jr. hit two free throws to trim the Huskies' lead to 63-62 with 32.3 seconds remaining, but UConn hit all four of its free throws down the stretch to claim the victory.

Michigan State had four players score in double-figures, led by senior center Carson Cooper, who had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting with seven rebounds. Junior forward Coen Carr and Fears each scored 13 points, while Kohler had 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Records
Michigan State finishes the season with a 27-8 record, while UConn improves to 32-5.

Recap

After trailing by as many as 19 points in the first half and eight at the break (35-27), the Spartans scored the first seven points of the second half over the first 3:21 and cut the lead to 35-34 on a driving layup from Carr at 16:39.
UConn would push the lead back to six points, 40-34, on a dunk from Tarris Reed Jr. at 15:43 before a last-second 3-pointer from freshman forward Jordan Scott made it a one possession game at 40-37 at 15:02.
Scott's 3-pointer triggered a 25-5 run over 4:56 as the Spartans took their first lead since early in the first half on a 3-point play from senior forward Jaxon Kohler at 45-44 with 10:06 left.
The teams traded the lead two more times with a jumper from senior center Carson Cooper at 9:22 giving the Spartans a 47-46 lead and setting up the final minutes.
UConn then went on a 10-2 run to go up, 56-49, with 5:10 remaining.
Cooper had a thunderous two-handed dunk, followed by two free throws and then another dunk to score six of MSU's next eight points to trim the UConn lead to one at 58-57 with 1:57 left.
Fears hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit again to one point at 61-60, but UConn hit two free throws to go back up three points, 63-60; Fears answered with two of his own free throws with 32.3 seconds left to make it 63-62 in favor of UConn.
UConn's Alex Karaban made two free throws to put the Huskies on top, 65-62. MSU had a chance to tie the game, but Kur Teng's 3-pointer missed the mark with seven seconds left. MSU did get the rebound and Cooper made one free throw to make it 65-63, but the Spartans couldn't get the rebound on the second shot and UConn sealed the win with two more free throws in the closing seconds.
The Spartans fell behind at the break, 35-27, after trailing by as many as 19 points (25-6) in the opening 20 minutes.
After taking a 4-3 lead in the early moments baskets from Kohler and Fears, the Spartans went more than nine minutes without a basket.
The Huskies led 18-6 and hit four-straight 3-pointers, the last by Jaylin Stewart at 10:15 to give UConn a 25-6 lead.
The Spartans, who missed 10-straight shots from the field, hit their first field since 18:44 on a layup from Carr with 8:56 to play.
MSU out-scored UConn, 17-8, over a span of 7:50 and cut the lead to 33-23 with 2:09 before the break, forcing a timeout.
A layup from Fears with 23 seconds left sent the Spartans into the break trailing by just eight points, 35-27.