MSU Hoops Routs Toledo Behind Mammoth First Half
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- There would be no blast-off upset for the Rockets this time.
Ninth-ranked Michigan State outclassed Toledo on Tuesday night, cruising to a 92-69 victory in front of an Izzone-less Breslin Center crowd after building a 30-point lead at halftime. The Spartans improved to 10-1 on the season, while the Rockets dropped to 5-6.
Senior forward Jaxon Kohler led the way for MSU, finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds. He had 14 points and 11 boards in the first half alone. Redshirt sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. also scored 15 points and dished out eight assists. Junior forward Coen Carr and sophomore guard Kur Teng had 14 points apiece.
Michigan State's next challenge is a trip to Detroit, where the Spartans will face Oakland at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday. Tip-off there is set for noon ET on the Big Ten Network.
First Half
MSU wasted no time in establishing itself as the superior team in this matchup. Just over five minutes into the game, the Spartans were up 20-6 and forcing the Rockets to call a timeout. Big men Kohler and Carson Cooper were feasting, and Michigan State was knocking down the looks it found from deep.
Kohler was on an early pace for a career night. At the second media timeout, he had 14 points and five rebounds. Toledo (yes, the whole team) had 12 points and four rebounds. MSU led 29-12 at that point.
The Rockets were able to stabilize and prevent this thing from turning into a complete laugher (for a bit), but the MAC representative never really got any closer, either. Michigan State's lead settled around the upper teens and got above 20 at times during the closing moments of the first half.
That didn't seem like enough for the Spartans, though. MSU ended the half on a huge run, scoring the final 11 points over the last 1:59 to extend its lead all the way to 30 points to more than double up Toledo's output. The score was 58-28.
Second Half
With that 30-point cushion, the second half became a good time for Michigan State to try some other things out and potentially keep the lead large enough that players towards the end of the bench could get some playing time.
The difference was large enough that Cooper felt emboldened enough to attempt a three. His shot actually looked pretty good out of the hand, but it rimmed out.
MSU still didn't seem to be in any hurry to try and make the lead 40 or 50, but Toledo did seem to start finding some quality looks from three that were not there so much in the first half. The Rockets drilled a few threes to make the scoreboard look more respectable, but the result of this game had been determined a long time ago.
Toledo ended up "winning" the second half by seven, but Michigan State still finished off a non-conference victory with complete ease. The Spartans got one last highlight in at the end, as twins Colin and Brennan Walton both hit three-pointers during the final minute.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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