Jeremy Fears Jr. had an all-time floor general performance with a career high of 17 assists, just three shy of the MSU record held by Mateen Cleaves in 2000. 

Fears went 6-for-8 from the field, knocked down a 3-pointer and was perfect from the free-throw line. His 17 points led all Spartans as the offense funneled through him when he was on the court. When Fears had open looks, he often waited for his defender to recover before passing to a teammate for an even better shot. His patience has opened up plays for MSU all season.

After the game, Spartan head coach Tom Izzo said it was a good win that showed where MSU can be at.

"It's one of those days. I've been on the other side of one of those days," Izzo said. "That's not as good as we probably are, and it's definitely not as bad as they are, but it was great to win a game that way in front of our former guys."

After Fears’ 17 points, Coen Carr and Carson Cooper each scored 14, with Cooper adding eight rebounds. Jaxon Kohler delivered a strong bounce-back performance after totaling nine points during the Spartans' West Coast road trip. He finished with 11 points and eight rebounds and again commanded the paint while knocking down smooth shots from 3-point range.

MSU was on top of every defensive assignment. Perfect hedges on screens and help defense thwarted easy Terrapin buckets. The Spartans' help defense got to its man before the pass was there and allowed minimal chances. The Spartan bench and Izzone student section was there to back up the MSU defense at every opportunity, too. Breslin Center was as loud as it had ever been despite the large margin of victory.

MSU opened the game with an 18-0 run over the first eight minutes, pushing its lead to 24-4. During that stretch, Maryland went 0-for-9 from the field and missed two free throws. In the first half, the Spartans allowed just 23 points and held the Terrapins to 33% shooting. MSU also controlled the glass, outrebounding Maryland 21-11 and generating three extra possessions on the offensive end.

As MSU’s offense found its rhythm in the second half, the Spartans could afford to prioritize quality looks and slower-developing sets rather than relying solely on tight, high-pressure defense. From the opening tip, MSU wore down the Terrapins and consistently found answers on offense whenever Maryland attempted to claw back.

MSU made one highlight reel play after another in transition and Maryland had no way of stopping it. MSU ranks first in fast break points per game in the Big Ten with 16.6 per game, they nearly doubled that average today. 

A team doesn’t score 91 points without a little help from downtown. MSU shot 47% from three with eight different Spartans registering a three ball. MSU had its best shooting performance of the season at 60.7% from the field. Ball screens with the occasional pick and pop were MSU’s bread and butter, scoring nearly 2 for every 1 Maryland point.

MSU played with a cohesiveness that hasn’t always been present this year. All but four Spartans scored Saturday afternoon and left little to the imagination of Izzo.

"We're just getting better because we are getting some continuity," Izzo said. "My two-guards made some progress; they keep making some progress. We'll just keep pushing them. The other guys are playing pretty well, and we’ll see if we keep it going a little bit."

MSU will now gear up for a trip to Rutgers on Tuesday Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. on Fox Sports One. Rutgers will be the final tune up for MSU before heading back to East Lansing for a contest against rival Michigan next Friday night. It will be MSU’s third game in 6 days for a top 10 matchup.