1. A nightmare, an epic comeback, and just not quite enough for MSU
WASHINGTON — Well, that was the nightmare for Michigan State’s basketball team. That they couldn’t make shots early. That Connecticut couldn’t miss early. That it would take way too long for the Spartans to settle in and resemble themselves. That it would be a bad matchup, a team of a different class.
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Then MSU woke up. And decided not to go gently into that good night.
What was nearly the greatest comeback in MSU NCAA tournament history will be a tough defeat to stomach — because of how they started, missed opportunities later, and because they were right there and couldn’t close the deal, like a few other times this season agains elite competition. They were good enough to win, but also maybe a player away. And UConn was definitely good enough, too, hitting big shots time and time again when MSU pulled close or, briefly, ahead. The 67-63 final was a just score. Earned by UConn. Earned by MSU.
MSU showed remarkable gumption. They began the game with such a whimper that they had no choice. It wasn't just the 2-for-16 start shooting. It was the nervousness, as Tom Izzo described.
In the closing minutes of the first half and throughout the second, we saw an MSU team we recognized. A team that was up for this — the matchups, the moment.
Jeremy Fears Jr. missed some shots — layups, the front end of a one-and-one — but he made some big plays, including a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 61-60 with 1:12 remaining.
Coen Carr continued his strong NCAA tournament, not making 3s this time, but attacking the paint, through defenders, showing an ability to create through force in traffic that he should bring every night.
Jaxon Kohler got a handle on his matchup with Tarris Reed Jr., forcing him into some missed shots, out-rebounding him, out-maneuvering him on the glass, 8-5. He missed a couple 3s that would have been enormous. He also hit one in the first half that helped MSU find its footing.
Carson Cooper led MSU in scoring in his final game, with 14 points, scoring in the post and hitting 4 of 5 free throws, adding seven rebounds and three assists, the culmination of a remarkable development story.
MSU didn’t get enough from the others — a big shot late by Jordan Scott, a 3 at an important time by Trey Fort, some good work on the glass by Cam Ward, but overall, not enough.
They didn’t make enough outside shots, just 4 of 16 3s, right down to a would-be tying 3 by Kur Teng with 8 seconds remaining.
“It’s very hard to be disappointed and yet proud,” Tom Izzo said. “We just kind of wore down, I think.
“I thought our guys played our ass off. I thought they played hard as hell after the first 10 minutes.”
Izzo thought they were a little nervous out of the gate, which he put on himself.
It showed. It was costly. And UConn had a lot to do with what transpired.
2. The start was a problem it turned out they couldn’t afford
Not until Carson Cooper threw down a pick-and-roll alley-oop dunk from Jeremy Fears with 4:57 remaining in the first half, cutting UConn’s lead to 29-16, did the Spartans have a single half-court offensive possession where they looked comfortable or like themselves.
From there, there were others: Cam Ward recognizing the mismatch with Alex Karaban guarding him and going around Karaban for a reverse layup; Jaxon Kohler knocking in a 3 from the top of the key; Coen Carr hitting a cutting bank shot, which led to Fears calling for one stop and MSU getting it as Kohler bodied Tarris Reed further from the basket than he wanted, resulting in a missed shot that Kohler also rebounded.
Suddenly it was 33–25, a game that was once 25-6 was now a game again.
This game was determined late, but it was also determined early — with a couple missed defensive assignments on the first few possessions, by playing like a team that wasn’t sure of itself for too long.
So much of the game was a comeback, and then trying to pull even and ahead. Almost as soon as they did, UConn had an answer and MSU couldn’t keep the Huskies on their heals.
“Maybe if we were neck and neck, we give ourselves a better chance at the end of the game,” Fears said. “We just didn’t do our part early, and that falls on me.”
3. A group that’ll be remembered for elevating the program again
When this team raced out of the gate this season, when they finished Big Ten play by winning at Purdue and pushing Michigan to the end, when the Spartans controlled their second-round NCAA tournament game against Louisville, and when they took the lead in the second half Friday night against UConn — and into the final minute — it looked like this group might really have the chance to get somewhere. They did have a chance. We saw it.
They’ll be disappointed in this finish, in being knocked out in the Sweet 16, not quite being able to get over the line against the best of the best they played — UConn, Michigan, Duke.
But after a series of 13-loss seasons and mostly first-weekend NCAA tournament exits, and Tom Izzo’s assertion that he was going to get the program back to deeper tournament runs, this group did it. This core group — Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper — were a massive part of 57 wins in two seasons, 15 total losses, a Big Ten championship, and runs to the Elite Eight and Sweet 16.
There is another step still to take. This year’s team, while different than last, reestablished the program among the upper crust of the Big Ten and the sport.
Any question on whether Izzo sees this as the peak were answered postgame.
Where do you see yourself in five years, he was asked.
“Trying to win a national championship,” he said.
Contact Graham Couch at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU basketball falls short against UConn in Sweet 16: 3 quick takes