3 Observations from Michigan State's Win over Detroit Mercy

Here are the main things I noticed during the Spartans' victory over the Titans and Mark Montgomery.

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

EAST LANSING, Mich. — No. 17 Michigan State is 5-0 after it cruised to an 84-56 victory over Detroit Mercy on Friday night. It was not a performance that quite matched Tuesday’s emphatic win over No. 12 Kentucky, but MSU handled its business against an inferior opponent just fine.

These are the main three things that I noticed from the Breslin Center:

Double-Digit Dimes for Fears Again

Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. dribbles the ball up the floor during a game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Redshirt sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is starting to cement himself as Michigan State’s best player, and he might just be the best facilitator in the country. 

Fears scored a career-high 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, but was stuck out again was his assist total, which was 11 this time. He had a career-best 13 against Kentucky and is now averaging 10.4 assists per game through five contests this season.

“I think I'm one of the best passers in the country, and it kind of makes it easy when I’ve got the team and the guys around me that help me,” Fears said after the game.

Tom Izzo thinks he could have had even more.

Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo yells to his players during a game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

“If you ask me, the guy that should be upset [about missed shots] is Fears, not me,” he said. “He would have had 15, 16 assists tonight if they just hit regular shots.”

It’s a historic pace. It would be a tall task, but if Fears maintains his current 10.4 per-game average of assists, he would finish the regular season with 322 assists, which would shatter Cassius Winston’s single-season program record of 291. Assuming good health, Fears will almost certainly have several more games in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, as well.

Zero Defensive Rebounds for Kohler

Michigan State Spartans forward Jaxon Kohler tries to grab a rebound during a game against the Detroit Mercy Titans at the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

One little thing that stood out in the box score is that senior forward Jaxon Kohler did not record a defensive rebound. He had four on the offensive glass and still scored 13 points, but MSU would like to see Kohler do slightly better than that.

“As well as Jaxon Kohler’s been playing, we did not think he played very well,” Izzo said. “He didn’t get one defensive rebound… My key guys played really well, for the most part. A couple of them didn’t do what they needed to do.” 

Kohler entered Friday averaging 11.3 rebounds per game, with 7.0 coming on the defensive glass. He entered the day fifth in the Big Ten in defensive rebounds to this point (28). 

I doubt there’s going to be many other, if any, games where Kohler fails to record a defensive rebound, but this could be a game that can help motivate him for the trip to Fort Myers, Fla. 

More Shots Needed for Carr

Michigan State Spartans forward Coen Carr watches the action from the bench during a game at the Breslin Center against the Detroit Mercy Titans. Carr had 13 points and seven rebounds during the 84-56 victory. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Junior forward Coen Carr only took six shots from the field on Friday and finished with 13 points, 11 of which came earlier in the first half. 

Perhaps Detroit Mercy made some adjustments to keep the ball out of Carr’s hands, but he didn’t get to 11 points in the first half through a bunch of dunks. He made multiple threes in a game for the first time in his career, had the old-fashioned three-point play, and a 2-for-2 trip to the line. The true Carr play was his alley-oop slam with about eight minutes to play.

“We need to get Coen 12 shots a game, if you ask me,” Izzo said. “We need him to get to that free-throw line, but what we really need is, he went to that free-throw line and he made his free throws, made a couple threes, and at times was really good defensively. I think he’s got to get more consistent on that.”

Carr has become an offensive force who deserves to get a hearty amount of shots every game. Some of that falls to him to be able to get those looks, but it would have been nice to see him be more involved after the hot start.  

Michigan State Spartans guard Kur Teng, left, defends Detroit Mercy Titans guard Nate Johnson, right, during a game at the Breslin Center on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

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