Analyzing MSU Basketball's Season at Christmas Break

The non-conference run has definitely been a successful one for Michigan State this campaign.

After entering the season ranked 22nd in the preseason AP Poll, the Spartans are now in the top 10 with New Year's and the full Big Ten slate soon to come. MSU is now on a break for Christmas with an 11-1 overall record for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo patrols the sidelines wearing an ugly Christmas sweater depicting him yelling at a referee with "Naughty List" written on it during a game against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, let's take a step back and look at the Spartans as a whole and figure out why MSU has seemed to catch some people by surprise again. The full video of the episode can be found below.

Watch the MSU Spartans Insider Podcast here:

More on Why Michigan State has Surprised

Jeremy Fears Jr.

One thing that has been a bit of a surprise has been the leap that point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has made. Fears is averaging nearly four more assists per game than he did last season. His 9.2 assists per game are the second-most in the country, only trailing Purdue's Braden Smith (9.6).

Fears is coming off his first real offseason that he was able to truly improve upon his game at MSU. His percentages from the field are about the same, but he looks like a more comfortable shooter and seems to just be working through a shooting slump as of late.

Shedeur Sander — Michigan State's Jaxon Kohler, center, looks up at a referee after he and Kur Teng, left, battled Toledo's Mynor Strong for control of the ball during the second half on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jaxon Kohler

The continued development of senior Jaxon Kohler has also been a reason why Michigan State has exceeded preseason expectations. He's averaging six more points and nearly three more rebounds per game than last year and is now averaging a double-double.

Kohler is another Spartan who has been rewarded for sticking around East Lansing and Tom Izzo. He only averaged 3.0 and 2.0 points per game during his first two seasons at MSU and hadn't started a game. Some might decide to transfer at that point, but Kohler stuck around, earned a starting role last year, and is now the Spartans' leading scorer.

The development of his three-point shot is another key part of Kohler's improvement. He hadn't made any threes through two seasons at Michigan State, but broke out the shot last season, making 19 across the Spartans' 37 games.

Kohler's shot has reached a new level this year, though. He's already matched his three-point total from last year in 12 games and is making 46.3% of his attempts thus far.

Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper — Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler, right, screams in celebration to center Carson Cooper, left, after Cooper converted an alley-oop against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

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