EAST LANSING- Mich.

The home crowd was abuzz as it was MSU’s first home game since finals ended, having to watch them play Oakland U on a neutral court days earlier. However, it would take some time before the Spartans (10-2) pulled away breaking a 20-20 tie just after the midway point of the first half and never looking back to an 86-69 win. FAU falls to 7-6 on the season.

Tied a career-high 13 points and added 8 assists ✅@jeremy_fears pic.twitter.com/4ZeyXE42t6

— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) December 23, 2024

Coach Izzo’s Spartans used a 4+ minute run split at the end of the 1st half and start of the 2nd to push their lead from 9 to 16 points; a margin they would comfortably stay within for almost all of the remaining time.

Jeremy Fears Jr and fellow guard Jaden Akins lead the way with 13 points each (10-22 combined FGs, 2-5 3-pt) 6 rebounds and 10 assists to only 2 turnovers. Fears played 23 minutes and Akins 25 with neither in foul trouble. Jaxon Kohler continued to dominate the glass with 12 total rebounds (4 offensive) a block and 6 points (2-9 FGs) while Frankie Fidler provided a nice 10-point effort (6-6 FTs) and Coen Carr stayed hot with 17 points (7-9 FGs), 8 rebounds and zero turnovers, to round out MSU’s double-digit scorers. The bench was balanced yet again splitting the point production evenly with the starters (43-43) which has been a consistent theme throughout the season.

FAU had foul trouble with Leland Walker (Jr-G, EKU transfer) fouling out at the 6:04 mark of the 2nd half, after having picked up 3 in the first half. Reserve Tre Carroll (Jr-F) did his best to support with a game-high 24 points (10-15 FGs, 2-3 3pt) and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes logged. Starter Baba Miller (Jr-F, FSU transfer) was the only other Owl in double figures totaling 12 points (5-10 FGs), 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 29 minutes.

MSU held healthy margins in most key categories: +12 Rebounds, +8 Points off Turnovers, +10 Fast Break Points, but did allow 38 points in the paint along with Szymon Zapala fouling out. Lately, Zapala has been in foul trouble every-other game since Memphis (4) including MINN (4), NEB (3) and FAU (5). His athleticism and rebounding ability have been nice, but his impact could be larger if he’s able to clean up the defensive side and log more minutes based on the matchup. Jase Richardson had a balanced 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 25 minutes off the bench.

TEAM STATS:
MSU: 31-69 FG (44.9%), 8-21, 3-PT (38.1%), 16-20 FT (80.0%)

FAU: 27-68 FG (39.7%), 4-22, 3-PT (18.2%), 11-14 FT (78.6%)

RANKINGS:

Record: 10-2, (2-0 Big Ten). Rankings: AP- 18th, Coaches- 18th.

KenPom: 16th // Bart Torvik: 25th.

Updated KenPom- Off: 34th, Def: 31st. AdjT: 178th. SOS Net Rtg: 60th +4.47

Other Metrics: KPI (12th), ESPN SoR (18th), ESPN BPI (21st).

FULL KenPom Stats: https://kenpom.com/index.php

FULL Bart Torvik Stats: https://barttorvik.com/#

NEXT ON THE CLOCK

MSU will host in-state MAC opponent, Western Michigan (3-8) on Monday 12/30 at 3:00pm (Big Ten Network) and welcome back long-time former assistant, Dwayne Stephens now head coach of the Broncos.