Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was a key player in the win, continuing to grow in his floor general role running the offense to create scoring for himself and his teammates. Fears did just about everything in the game, putting up a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists along with five rebounds and five steals.

"Fears is our leader, he’s got unbelievable stats," head coach Tom Izzo said postgame. "In the first half, he didn’t lead our team to anything. And he knows it, and in the second half he did, and that was a big difference."

Despite a slow start offensively in the first half, Fears led MSU to a much stronger second-half performance built around dominating the offensive glass. The Spartans grabbed 12 offensive rebounds to Colgate’s nine defensive boards in the second half, fueling 20 second-chance points — one of the team’s few bright spots.

Another positive for the Spartans was their aggressive rebounding and attacking the rim, which got them to the free-throw line 37 times. That advantage, however, turned into a negative as they converted only 65% of their free throws.

The Spartans started off strong defensively after giving up the opening basket of the game from deep, holding Colgate scoreless for over four minutes and going on an 8-0 run. Their impressive defense wouldn’t last long, as the rest of the half would be open looks from wherever the Raiders wanted it. The MSU defense couldn’t keep up, and there seemed to be a burgundy shirt open on almost every possession in the first half, especially from behind the arc. Colgate shot an incredible 6/14 from three in the first half, most of which came from uncontested shots.

The second half wasn't much different defensively, despite a couple of big steals that turned into fast-break points. The Raiders still shot 50% in the half, and many of their missed shots were still on open looks rather than from good defensive coverage. 

"The encouraging part for me is the energy of rebounding was better. The energy of guarding was not. So I got one step forward, so hopefully I get the next one next week," Izzo said.

It’s the first game of the season, and with many new faces from last year, the Spartans had to make some adjustments. Still, there were promising flashes from the newcomers. Senior transfer guard Trey Fort made timely shots and got to the line, finishing with nine points, while freshmen Jordan Scott and Cam Ward brought energy and made key plays throughout the game.

Seniors Carson Cooper and Kohler have been huge on mentoring the freshmen throughout the season and helping them grow as players. 

"I love it, man. He gives us spark. It gives us the motivation to do what he’s doing," Kohler said about Scott. "Watching that from the bench and the sideline, I’m jumping off the floor excited because that creates a spark."

Overall, it was a rough outing for the Spartans, but they came away with the win. There is plenty of room for improvement before they face Arkansas on Saturday.