Four Players in Double Figures as No. 8 Michigan State Hangs on to Beat Rutgers, 91-87, on Senior Day

Thursday, March 5

East Lansing, Mich.

8 PM

Michigan State University

25-5,15-4Big Ten

Rutgers

12-18,5-14Big Ten

Rutgers

Michigan St.

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

Four Players in Double Figures as No. 8 Michigan State Hangs on to Beat Rutgers, 91-87, on Senior Day

3/5/2026 11:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook Rutgers at Michigan St. 05 March Michigan State 91, Rutgers 87 Post-Game Quotes

East Lansing, Mich. – Four players scored in double figures and No. 8 Michigan State opened up a 19-point lead in the second half before holding on to beat Rutgers, 91-87, on Senior Day at the Breslin Center on Thursday.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half and handed out a game-high eight assists, while junior forward Coen Carr scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Spartans.

Senior forward Jaxon Kohler scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while senior center Carson Cooper added 14 points and grabbed six rebounds with two blocks. Freshman forward Cam Ward pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go with nine points and a game-high three blocked shots.

Records
Michigan State, winners of five-straight games, improves to 25-5 overall and 15-4 in the Big Ten Conference, while Rutgers falls to 12-18 overall and 5-14 in league play.

Recap

After trailing for more than 13 minutes in the first half, the Spartans led by one at the break (31-30) and started the second half quickly, scoring the first seven points after the break, with a 3-pointer from Kohler (18:22) pushing the lead to 38-30 and forcing RU to call a timeout.
Fears fed Carr for three-straight alley-oop dunks and then fed freshman Jordan Scott for another, increasing the lead to 46-35 and forcing another timeout.
Fears scored on a fast break layup to push the lead to 52-38 (14:36) and a layup from sophomore guard Kur Teng gave MSU a 58-43 lead (12:06).
A 3-pointer from Carr with 6:17 to play gave the Spartans their biggest lead, 74-55, with 6:17 to play and the Spartans still led by 15, 83-68, after Kohler free throws with 1:19 to play.
The Scarlet Knights did not go without a fight, as RU hit three-straight 3-pointers and got with 89-87 on a 3-poitner from Darren Buchanan with five seconds left before Fears hit two free throws with two seconds left to seal the win.
Michigan State opened the second half ahead 45-37 before pushing the lead to 12 points, 50-38, after
Michigan State went into the break with a 31-30 lead after Carr scored on a layup with 57 seconds left and hit a pair of free throws with three seconds on the clock.
The first half was back and forth with three ties and six lead changes and neither team leading by more than our points.
Rutgers, which led for more than 13 minutes in the opening half, took a 10-6 lead on free throws from Tarik Francis in the opening five-plus minutes.
The Spartans, who struggled from the field early, responded with a 10-2 run over 3:47 and took a 16-12 lead on a 3-pointer from Fears midway through the half.
The Scarlet Knights took a 25-22 lead on a layup from Mark Lino (5:01) and were up 28-24 on a 3-pointer from Kaden Powers were just over two minutes left before the break.
MSU out-scored Rutgers, 7-2, over the final 2:28 to go into the half with the lead.

Key Stats

Michigan State shot 58.5 percent from the floor (31-of-53), including 64.5 percent in the second half (20-of-31).
The Spartans had a 38-21 advantage on the boards, collected 12 offensive rebounds and scored 12 second-chance points.
Michigan State scored 46 points in the paint.
MSU scored 24 points on the fast break.
MSU committed 15 turnovers (10 in the first half) and RU scored 15 points of those turnovers.
Rutgers shot 55.6 percent from 3-point land, hitting six in the second half.

Notes

Michigan State leads the all-time series with Rutgers, 16-3, and has won the last four meetings, including a season sweep this year.
- MSU is 9-0 all-time at home against the Scarlet Knights, including an 8-0 mark at the Breslin Center.
- MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo is now 15-3 all-time against Rutgers.
Izzo's career record is now 762-307 in his 31st year at the helm of the MSU program, including a 375-177 record in the Big Ten.
The win was the 502nd all-time win at the Breslin Center for Michigan State.
- The Spartans are now 502-70 all-time at home since the Breslin Center opened in 1989, including a 269-61 mark in Big Ten play.
- Under Head Coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans are 428-63 at the Breslin, including a 229-48 conference record.
MSU is 15-2 at home this season.
The Spartans are 6-2 in February.
- The Spartans are 5-0 in games played on Thursday and 17-4 in night games.
MSU led at the half (31-30) for just the second-straight game, but just the third time in the last 10 games.
- The Spartans are 17-1 when leading at the half.
The Spartans shot 58.5 percent from the floor (31-of-55), the second-highest field goal percentage this season.
- MSU is 13-0 when shooting above 50.0 percent from the floor.
Michigan State scored 91 points, the fourth time this season with at least 90 points.
- MSU has a 14-0 record when scoring at least 80 points.
Michigan State out-rebounded Rutgers (38-21), the 26th time they have controlled the battle of the boards (24-2).
MSU scored 24 points off the fast break, the 11th game with at least 20 points.
Four players scored in double figures for Michigan State and the Spartans are 14-2 when at least four players reach at least 10 points.
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 21 points and handed out a game-high eight assists.
- Fears has scored in double figures in each of the last 18 games.
- He has scored in double figures 24 times this year and 36 for his career.
- This was his seventh game this season with at least 20 points.
- He led the team in scoring for the 12th time this season and the 13th time in his career.
- Fears has led the team in assists 30 times this year and 52 for his career.
- His eight assists pushed his season total to 272 the third-most in a single season in MSU history … He moved past Earvin Johnson (269, 1978-79) for third all-time and need three more to pass Mateen Cleaves (1998-99, 274) for second place.
Coen Carr shared the team-high scoring lead with 21 points, adding six rebounds and two blocked shots.
- He has scored in double figures 17 times this year and 31 for his career.
- This was his sixth time leading the team in scoring and the ninth of his career.
Jaxon Kohler scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- Kohler has scored in double figures 22 times this season and 33 for his career.
Carson Cooper scored 14 points with six rebounds and two blocked shots.
- He has scored in double figures 17 times this year and 21 for his career.
- This was his eighth game this season with at least two blocked shots.
Cam Ward grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go with nine points and three blocked shots.
- This was the third time he has led the team in rebounding.
- His three blocked shots were also a career best.
Denham Wojcik handed out a Big Ten career-best three assists while playing 12 minutes, a career mark in conference play.

Up Next
Michigan State closes out the 2025-26 regular season on Sunday, March 8, playing at Michigan. The game will air live on CBS and tips off at 4:30 p.m., with Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson on the call.