Michigan State basketball score: Jeremy Fears Jr. scored in myriad ways as the Spartans picked up their 1st West Coast Big Ten win against Washington.
SEATTLE − Tom Izzo promised it would be a business trip for Michigan State basketball. Even if it felt like a home game at Alaskan Airlines Arena.
His 12th-ranked Spartans delivered a deep, workmanlike effort to withstand Washington and their own inconsistencies in a disjointed start to a two-game West Coast trip.
Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 14 of his 19 points in the second half and added five assists as MSU ebbed and flowed its way to an 80-63 victory on Saturday, Jan. 17.
Kur Teng added 11 points and Carson Cooper had 10 points and six rebounds for MSU (16-2, 6-1 Big Ten). That helped offset struggles from Jaxon Kohler, who had just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting, missing all five of his 3-point attempts, to go with seven rebounds. However, MSU got a 31-7 scoring edge from its bench as all 11 Spartans who played scored at least two points and nine grabbed at least one rebound. No one played more than Fears’ 29 minutes.
The Spartans’ defense smothered the Huskies outside to 3-for-19 from behind the 3-point arc. Zoom Diallo had 18 points and Hannes Steinback scored 17 with nine rebounds for Washington (10-8, 2-5), while Franck Kepnang added 13 points as MSU got outscored 42-32 in the paint.
Fears takeover
Missed free throws again proved problematic for the Spartans, who clanked 6 of their first 12 after Coen Car missed a pair with 12:30 to play. MSU found its 12-point lead from late in the first half whittled down to 48-43 after a Cam Ward flagrant foul and a Washington free throw.
That’s when Fears began to assert himself the best way he can – by getting fouled and making his freebies.
That included four straight after Carr’s misses, followed by back-to-back driving buckets deep in the paint by the third-year sophomore. Fears followed those eight straight points with a lob that Cooper tipped in, then a steal on which the 6-foot-2, 190-pound point guard got fouled. Fears delivered two more free throws and went to the bench for backup Denham Wojcik with 8:32 to play, inciting the pro-MSU crowd into hostile cheers in enemy territory that resembled and sounded like Green and White takeovers last year at USC’s Galen Center.
After a Ward put-back, Fears returned and hit another driving layup with 5:05 left, then Teng dropped his third 3-pointer of the game. Then Fears lobbed an alley-oop to Carr for a backdoor dunk, raising his arms once again as he backpedaled to fire up the MSU fans one more time.
Depth mining
With the six-day trip to Washington and Oregon, Izzo clearly was focused on making his minutes matter for his players on the long road swing.
Izzo distributed his minutes mindfully with his primary four captains – Fears played 28:43, Cooper 27:48, Kohler 21:46 and Carr 21:42. Scott (20:18), Teng (19:54) and Ward (19:03) continue to emerge as his long-run options, with starting guard Divine Ugochukwu (16:28) primarily playing two-guard and Wojcik (11:17) getting an extended look backing up Fears at point guard.
After a 3-pointer from senior guard Quimari Peterson, the Huskies got smothered by MSU and missed 12 of their next 16 attempts and had scoreless droughts of 3:06 and 3:20. The Spartans got big-time scoring balance, with nine of their 11 who played scoring in the opening half. That included back-to-back 3-pointers from Teng to spark a 17-0 bench scoring advantage that lifted MSU to a 39-31 halftime lead.
Despite holding the Huskies to 1-for-11 from 3-point range, the Spartans did struggle at times defensively with their backdoor cuts and baseline action. Washington outscored MSU in the paint, 24-12, and got 11 points from Steinbach and nine from Diallo to stay within single digits at halftime even though the Spartans forced nine turnovers they turned into nine points.
What’s next
The Spartans head south down the Pacific Coastline to prepare for Tuesday night’s game in Eugene, Oregon (9 p.m. ET/FS1). Oregon (8-10, 1-6) fell at home Saturday to No. 3 Michigan, 81-71, for its fourth straight loss. MSU pulled away from the Ducks at Breslin Center last year, 86-74, on Feb. 8, 2025. This will be the Spartans’ first time playing a road game at Oregon in a series they own a 3-2 all-time advantage.
Contact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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Contact Chris Solari:[email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
Subscribe to the "Spartan Speak" podcast for new episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball beats Washington as Jeremy Fears Jr. rules
Category: General Sports
