How MSU's Fears Reacted to Spartans' Huge Victory at Purdue
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. --- The energy inside the Mackey Arena visiting locker room after the game was high.
Even though there was a pretty good gap of probably about 40 minutes between when the final buzzer sounded and when media was let in, it felt like a locker room full of people who just got their biggest win of the season. No. 13 Michigan State's 76-74 upset win over No. 8 Purdue on Thursday is massive for both this team's overall momentum and its positioning in March.
"We knew this whole week, it was just sticking together, being together, being connected," MSU point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said after the game. "And even the [players-only meeting], we just had to figure out why, what we needed to do, how we were getting off to slow starts, and kind of look in the mirror.
"We have four games left in the Big Ten schedule [before Purdue], and just understand how we can be better as a team, be better as a player, be better as a group. I think today, we built it, and we bonded. Everybody had a big impact in today's game."
Full Video of Fears Postgame
More Thoughts on Thursday's Win, Fears
One of the big storylines of this one was Fears against four-year Purdue starting point guard Braden Smith. Both of them are the top two assist-getters in the entire country, with Smith actually recording his 1,000th career assist during the first half of Thursday's game.
The individual battle was tight, as expected. Smith had 12 points, five rebounds, and 10 assists (four turnovers). Fears had 12 points and six assists (one turnover). Smith got more assists, but Fears did take care of the ball much better than him. Points off turnovers being 19-5 in favor of MSU was a big reason the Spartans walked out of Mackey with a victory.
One of the important things here is that Fears doesn't have to carry the team anymore. Everything is still going to flow through him offensively the rest of the way, but it no longer feels like he needs to do everything. The shakiest stretch of the season was probably from that game at Rutgers to the Wisconsin game --- Fears averaged 22.0 points and 10.8 assists across that five-game stretch that resulted in a 2-3 record.
Now, Michigan State has won three straight games. Fears has only needed to average 13.0 points and 8.0 assists per game. Those are still some good numbers, but it's a much more sustainable practice than what MSU was doing for a couple of weeks.
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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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