MSU's Fears Now Approaching Program Record as Assists Pile Up
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Michigan State's point guard is continuing to play like one of the best players in the country.
Jeremy Fears Jr. "played one of his best games" of his career against UCLA, as Tom Izzo put it afterwards. He had 16 points and 10 assists during the 15th-ranked Spartans' 82-59 rout of the Bruins, also hitting a career-high four three-pointers. The win improved Michigan State's record to 21-5 overall and 11-4 during Big Ten play.
"I think I was confidently playing," Fears said after the game. "You know, getting the guys shots, trying to getting the guys in sets and plays and defense and talking and motivated. [I am] just trying to turn everything up a notch with the stretching and do everything I can and leave it out on the court, leave it in the locker room, and just help the guys any way that I can.
"Half of the guys have never been in this situation. Last year, we were almost down and out and won seven in a row, so, just understanding that we have a chance to maybe put on a run and so something special. You want to be playing your best basketball towards March. This is definitely a building block."
More from Jeremy Fears Jr.:
More on Fears' Big Season
The per-game statistics for Fears only seem to be ticking up and up lately. He's up to averaging 15.1 points and a nation-leading 9.3 assists per game. Across MSU's last 10 games, though, Fears has averaged 19.9 points and 10.1 assists.
Fears is up to 241 assists on the season, already tied for the fourth-most in any season in Michigan State history. What makes it more impressive is that the worst-case scenario for the Spartans right now is that they play seven more games (five regular season, one Big Ten Tournament, one March Madness).
The all-time single-season record at MSU is Cassius Winston's 291 assists during the 2018-19 (he averaged 7.5 assists across a 39-game season). At the pace Fears is on, he will probably match and surpass Winston's record during either the regular season finale at Michigan or during the Spartans' first BTT game. The Big Ten record of 313 (Purdue's Braden Smith, 2024-25) also seems very attainable right now.
Fears is still the first player since Winston who has truly felt like the face of Michigan State's program. These potential upcoming milestones for Fears are pretty remarkable. The fact that he can also play not one, but two more seasons in East Lansing after this should excite a lot of people. No assist record, MSU, Big Ten, or national, feels very safe right now.
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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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