MSU's Biggest Riser, Faller From High-Scoring Victory vs. UNI
In this story:
EAST LANSING — Things got weird during No. 5 Michigan State's fourth game of the season.
MSU hit a school record 18 threes, reached triple digits, and there were 61 total foul calls during the Spartans' 106-72 victory over Northern Iowa on Friday night. The win propelled the Spartans to 4-0 on the season. Here are the Michigan State players who increased and decreased their stock the most during the victory:
Biggest Riser: PG Jeremy Fears Jr.
Stats: 24 points, 9 assists, 0 turnovers, 1 steal | 6/7 FGs, 4/5 3PTs, 8/9 FTs
Point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is being held to a National Player of the Year standard. It feels like he's putting up extremely impressive numbers every night now, and Friday was no different. Fears' extremely efficient 24 points are the fourth-most of his career. Fears played at least 35 minutes in the three other games; he only played 28 on Friday. His nine assists are also the most he's had without a turnover in his career, the previous high being six (twice).
"He might have had his best game as a Spartan," Tom Izzo said after the game. "He might have had the best game as an anybody. The way he ran the team, the way he shot the ball, the way he scored it. Nine assists, no turnovers -- should have had a couple more assists. Really, really proud of him."
Fears is now averaging 16.8 points and 10.0 assists through four games this year. That really is NPOTY stuff. What's really encouraging is Fears' 4-of-5 mark from deep. He entered just 1-for-8 on the season from deep. Friday was the second instance of Fears making four threes in a game during his career (UCLA on Feb. 17, 2026).
Biggest Faller: C Anton Bonke
Stats: 0 points, 0 rebounds, 2 blocks, 3 turnovers | 0/0 FGs, 0/0 FTs
Michigan State's frontcourt troubles seemed to rear their head a little bit on Friday. Starting center Anton Bonke was a non-factor on Friday night. He blocked a few shots, but didn't attempt a single shot or grab a single rebound in his seven minutes of playing time. Ethan Taylor and Jesse McCulloch were serviceable, but nobody at the five really stood out, which isn't great during a game where MSU scored so many points.
"It's going to be by committee for a while," Izzo said about the center spot. "I guess that's an advantage that I got three of them; two of them are 7'1" or '2". But the disadvantage is nobody's raising their game enough that I can feel comfortable with that."
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.
Follow jacobcotsonika