Carson Cooper Reflects on MSU Career Following UConn Defeat

Here's why the Spartans' center had to say after the loss to the Huskies.

Michigan State center Carson Cooper (15) runs onto the court for warm upl ahead of the game between Michigan State and North Dakota State at the NCAA Tournament First Round at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carson Cooper is college basketball as it should be.

The recruiting rankings said he'd never belong on a high-major court. He went to Michigan State anyway and became someone more than worthy. The process of getting to that point took some time, but Cooper stuck it out across his four-year career in East Lansing.

Michigan State's Carson Cooper walks to the bench after a timeout against Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Saturday, March 21, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Cooper's career wrapped up with a 67-63 loss in the Sweet 16 to UConn. He led MSU with 14 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. The Spartans overcame a 19-point deficit at one point, but couldn't finish off the comeback in the final minutes of the game.

"The games that we lost, we usually went down early and, you know, we're clawing our way back," Cooper said after the game. "It's just unfortunate that we're never able to get that one play to get up by three or four and really feel comfortable and feel like we were putting the pressure on them."

Video of Cooper Postgame

More of Cooper's Thoughts

I asked Cooper in the locker room afterwards about what he would miss the most about his time at Michigan State. Here's what he said:

"It's just probably just being around them in the locker room and stuff before practice and in the locker room after games. I think that winning feeling, not being able to experience that anymore with guys that I'm playing with, it's going to hurt. That's what everybody says."

"I think I said earlier, a couple of weeks ago, I don't care if I won zero games here in my four years. The relationships I was able to build with these guys, that means everything."

Tom Izzo often talks about "memory-making moments." The first things that come to mind about Cooper's time at Michigan State could be facing Gonzaga on an aircraft carrier, a trip to Spain, a Big Ten Championship, and three different Sweet 16 trips.

Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper gets ready to attempt a free throw against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

That's what makes Cooper's response a bit illuminating. He's not thinking about the moment he got a Big Ten Championship ring in that moment. He's thinking about sharing those positive moments with his teammates.

From the outside perspective, Cooper is what makes college sports fun. He got better and better across four years, culminating in a great senior year where he averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds. That would've been nearly inconceivable when Cooper was a freshman collecting 6.6 minutes per game and a couple of DNPs.

Michigan State's Carson Cooper leaps to grab a rebound against Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI