EAST LANSING– Michigan State men’s basketball didn’t play its best brand of basketball in its season opener, but it was enough to gut out an 80-69 win over the Colgate Raiders.
Missed free throws are an infamous pet peeve for Spartans head coach Tom Izzo, and he was not happy with his squad’s performance from the charity stripe. MSU got to the line 37 times but only converted on 24.
“Getting to the line 84 times in two games is phenomenal and missing 31 is ridiculous, so I have to balance the phenomenal and ridiculous,” Izzo said.
Even though the free throws didn’t fall for the Spartans, there were still positives; they dominated the glass. MSU outrebounded the Raiders 47-25, led by senior forward Jaxon Kohler, who pulled down 15 boards.
MSU point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was the most impactful player on both sides of the court. Halftime adjustments led to the redshirt sophomore being more aggressive when getting through screens and pressuring the ball, he finished with five steals.
On offense, the guard was in complete control; he dished 10 assists to go with 14 points.
“In that second half, he did everything I asked him to do and more, he had a hell of a game,” Izzo said.
The Raiders kept it close late, but a fast break finish from Spartans junior forward Coen Carr via an off-the-backboard pass from Fears Jr. ignited the Izzone and propelled MSU to the win.
“When Fears throws it off the glass and they get the dunk, I can’t remember a louder environment,” said Cornell head coach Matt Langel.
Carr’s athleticism consistently kills opponents’ momentum, something he takes pride in.
“Whenever you can do something like that and stop the momentum and give you the momentum, it’s great,” Carr said.
The Spartans’ bench outscored Colgate’s bench 22-8. Among the contributors, freshman Jordan Scott made an imprint on the game in his collegiate debut. It wasn’t as much in the box score, but his hustle plays gave the Spartans extra possessions.
Spartans’ sixth-year guard Trey Fort wasn’t afraid to let it fly in his debut. The Samford transfer took and made some difficult shots over defenders. Fort had nine points in 19 minutes off the bench.
However, Izzo highlighted the lack of defense from the two-guard position; both Fort and sophomore starter Kur Teng had defensive lapses in the win.
‘They’re not making shots and they’re not guarding anybody,” Izzo said.
The Breslin Center will be packed once again on Saturday, November 8, for a ranked matchup between the No. 22 Spartans and No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks, coached by Hall of Famer John Calipari.
Tune into the first Impact 89FM broadcast of the season, Jack Stager and Joe Dez will be on the call with a scheduled tip-off at 7:00 p.m.
