Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State basketball's 75-66 win over ...

1. So far so good for MSU in a section of the schedule that was to supposed to bury them

EAST LANSING — So much for this portion of the schedule being the Spartans’ immediate downfall. 

Turns out, Michigan State’s 9-0 start to Big Ten play wasn’t fraudulent. The Spartans on Tuesday night stared down another team that, not long ago, was considered likely to be too much for them to handle and, at 12-3, grabbed second place in the Big Ten for themselves for the time being, a half-game behind Michigan, who they face Friday.

This win deserves its due before everyone moves on. Purdue has run this league for the last few years. The Boilermakers aren’t as big inside as they’ve been, but they’re a formidable team, a contender, with a point guard who might be the league’s player of the year, and they hadn’t lost three straight games in five years. Until Tuesday night’s 75-66 loss to the Spartans.

Like most of MSU’s best wins, this was a collective effort — Tre Holloman running the show, Frankie Fidler coming up with a steal and dunk (for a 50-39 lead) that might have been the play of the game, if not for a Coen Carr alley-oop dunk that broke records for hang time during the stretch that got the Spartans in front before halftime. Fidler had some other moments, too. I'd argue he and Holloman were the MVPs of this one.

You can also point to plays and/or performances by Jase Richardson (who saved them in the first half), Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, Szymon Zapala around the rim, Jaden Akins and Jeremy Fears, too, that made a dent in this thing. Eight MSU players scored between 7 and 12 points. Nobody more than that.

MSU had 21 fast-break points and 19 points off turnovers, which saved them on a night when half-court offense wasn’t always easy. They didn’t settle for 3s, but when they took them, they made enough of them — 5-for-13 on a night they shot 58% overall and scored 42 points in the paint. 

The Spartans were the more athletic team and took advantage of Purdue’s greatest deficiency — rim protection. And they defended the heck out of Purdue — including forcing star Braden Smith into six turnovers and making it hard for the Boilermakers' shooters to get off the shots they wanted. Purdue made 9 of 24 3s, but that doesn't tell the story.

The Spartans won a game that, early on, it didn’t look like they were going to. They just kept coming, like at Illinois, until they found a streak of momentum, and then kept going.

We’ll see how that works Friday at Michigan.

2. Talkin’ about Jeremy Fears Jr.

You can see the difference Jeremy Fears Jr. can make when he’s on his game — we saw it at the beginning of the second half, when he assisted on all three buckets during an 8-0 run out of the gate, giving the Spartans a cushion for the first time all game.

His nine first-half minutes were much less effective — 0-for-2 shooting, no assists, rebounds, steals or turnovers. 

MSU has done OK without getting much out of Fears the past few games — largely because the Spartans have Tre Holloman. But they won’t finish strong or get anywhere in March if Fears doesn’t find himself again more regularly. Because the best version of Fears is a big part of what can make this MSU team difficult to deal with. He’s a big part of the Spartans’ momentum and spurt-ability. 

Tuesday, he was also a big part of MSU’s offense stalling out in the half court for a good while.

Some of what’s happening lately is related to his struggles with his shot and how teams are playing him in the half-court. He’s got to keep shooting and playing with confidence and pushing the ball.

Even if MSU leans more into Holloman at the point, Fears is going to be on the court 15-20 minutes at minimum — he played 19 Tuesday and finished with six assists and no turnovers. And I still think he’s MSU future at the position. He’s got to work through this and then dedicate the offseason to his shot. 

3. Control of the Big Ten on the line Friday at Michigan

It’s been six years since we’ve had this — MSU vs. Michigan at the top of the Big Ten. Those were good days in the 2010s, when, for a stretch, this rivalry ran the league.

Michigan, which sits in first place at 12-2 in the Big Ten, won’t have played since Sunday’s win at Ohio State. The Spartans, at 12-3, coming off wins at Illinois and over Purdue, can take some measure of control of the race with a win Friday night at Crisler Center. The Wolverines can grab what could be an insurmountable lead with a win. 

Both teams will meet again on the final day of the regular season, Sunday, March 9, at Breslin Center — in what’s turned into fantastic scheduling by the Big Ten.

This league is better when these two teams are at the top of their games, when the rivalry means something beyond bragging rights. Because, in basketball, those really don’t exist. Both programs have been too good too often and had so much glory of their own that nothing rivalry-wise is ever determined by a single game.

But this Big Ten championship likely will be by these next two games.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and on BlueSky at @GrahamCouch.