3 Observations from Michigan State's Huge Win vs. Kentucky
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No. 17 Michigan State sent a message to the country on Tuesday, crushing No. 12 Kentucky, 83-66, inside Madison Square Garden during the 15th annual Champions Classic.
It's the Spartans' second ranked win of the season already, but this one's definitely much more impressive, given that it was on a neutral court and by a much larger margin. Here are the three main things I noticed from MSU's big day:
Threes Finally Start Dropping
Jump shots, Michigan State basketball, and Madison Square Garden have generally not been able to all coexist historically, but they definitely got along on Tuesday.
MSU’s first 12 points were all on three-pointers. Entering Tuesday, the Spartans had only scored 17.1% of their points from long range, one of the lowest percentages in Division I basketball. It finished up at 39.8% for Tuesday.
Michigan State had shot 11-for-22 on its three-point attempts once the final buzzer sounded. It’s the first time the Spartans have shot at a 50% clip on that many attempts since they also went 11-of-22 against Minnesota on Dec. 4, 2024.
These makes were also coming from several players who haven’t necessarily been regarded as shooters. Kur Teng and Trey Fort hit three long ones each, but that is not too unexpected, since they are regarded as the best long-range shooters on the team.
What’s unexpected is Jaxon Kohler, Jesse McCulloch, and Coen Carr going a combined 5-for-6.
This is the game Tom Izzo and fans had been waiting for. Shooting was the glaring weakness of this team after three games. I doubt MSU will continue to shoot 50% from deep all year, but if the mean settles around 33 or 34%, this team can be very dangerous again.
Jeremy Fears Jr.'s Masterpiece
In my opinion, the best individual performance was certainly from Jeremy Fears Jr.
He played his role to an absolute T on Tuesday, scoring eight points, six rebounds, and dishing out a career-high 13 assists. Those assists didn’t come at the expense of more turnovers, either — Fears had three steals to just two giveaways.
It feels like every game, Fears just puts out a performance that makes one wonder if Izzo made him in a lab a little bit. He’s gritty, skilled, smart, and probably extremely annoying to play against.
Izzo compares Fears to Mateen Cleaves a lot for a reason. It’s perfectly reasonable for MSU fans to be excited about the incoming No. 1 recruiting class for next season, but the fact that Fears is only a redshirt sophomore should be right up there among the top reasons to be excited about Spartan basketball.
Kur Teng’s Arrival
What cannot be lost is the first big game of Teng’s career at Michigan State. The sophomore scored a career-high 15 points, which only trailed Kohler’s 20 for the most in the game by a player on either side.
Izzo said during the offseason that Teng was the team’s best outside shooter. He wasn’t just saying it to say it. After going 3-for-7 from deep on Tuesday, Teng is now 7-of-17 on the season, which comes out to 41.2%.
But what was also impressive about Teng were the other things he did. He made a few mid-range jumpers and played some of the best defense of his Spartan career.
When Teng was on the floor for all of 18 minutes, Michigan State outscored Kentucky by 17. It was completely even in the other 22 minutes without him.
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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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