Michigan State Takes Down San Jose State to Reach 3-0
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- No. 17 Michigan State handled San Jose State on Thursday night at the Breslin Center, using a great first half to grab a 79-60 victory in a Spartans vs. Spartans matchup.
MSU played two very different halves of basketball. It completely dominated the first 20 minutes and took a 46-23 lead into the break. Then, SJSU looked like the better team in the back half and got within 10 late, but didn't do enough to really threaten climbing out of that 23-point hole it had found itself in.
Senior forward Jaxon Kohler had a big day, scoring 17 points and grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds for a double-double. Senior center Carson Cooper also had a career-high 17 points, along with seven rebounds. Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Fears Jr. also scored 15 points and dished out nine assists.
MSU improves to 3-0 with the victory, while SJSU dropped to 0-3. Michigan State's next game is against No. 9 Kentucky next Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York for the Champions Classic.
First Half
MSU started the night by playing some suffocating defense. At the second media timeout --- 8:03 into the game, to be precise --- Michigan State had a 16-2 lead and SJSU was 1-for-12 from the field.
Things never really got any closer than that. San Jose State's second made field goal came nine minutes and 12 seconds into the game.
SJSU's offense settled in a bit as the period went on, but MSU still looked like the faster, stronger, smarter, and better team during the first half. It sure helped that Michigan State scored on nearly two-thirds of its possessions.
Sophomore guard Kur Teng had a good early showing, scoring 10 first-half points and hitting two three-pointers. That had already surpassed his career-high of six, which was during the season opener against Colgate.
Cooper also provided good minutes. He struggled with his free throws, but he entered the break with 12 points, which would be the second-highest total of any game in his career. Cooper also grabbed four rebounds and had three steals during the first half.
Kohler nearly out-rebounded SJSU by himself before the break. At halftime, Kohler had nine rebounds, and San Jose State had 11. Michigan State had 26 as a team through 20 minutes and entered the locker room with a 46-23 lead.
Second Half
Even though there was a 2-to-1 ratio on the scoreboard, SJSU started the second half on an 8-0 run to force a Tom Izzo timeout less than three minutes in. Cooper ended the run and set his new career-high after dunking another alley-oop.
The initial run reached 13-2 for San Jose State, which got the game to as close as 12. It had not been that close since MSU was up 14-2 a little less than seven minutes into the game.
With the game at 50-38, Michigan State countered with its own 10-2 push, hitting a few needed three-pointers to get the near-capacity crowd back into it.
Still, SJSU tried to keep things mildly interesting. The "other" Spartans were down by 20, but got within 10 with a little less than six minutes to go. They used a 15-5 run that spanned nearly four minutes to do so.
Even though the second half was probably MSU's worst of the season so far, it wasn't bad enough to put it in danger of losing the game entirely. A 7-0 run on the back end of the final media timeout essentially sealed the game.
San Jose State never had it within nine points or fewer during the second half, and Michigan State finished out a 79-60 win.
Notable Performances
Jaxon Kohler: 17 points, 18 rebounds
Jeremy Fears Jr.: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists
Carson Cooper: 13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals
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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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