All season, head coach Tom Izzo has said a player-led team is better than a coach-led team. Cooper and Kohler embodied that sentiment through their leadership in their final season. Their embrace of MSU’s culture was evident Thursday night.

In their final game in East Lansing, Cooper scored 14 points with six rebounds while Kohler added 15 points with seven boards. Even to the end, the pair of big men prioritized creating opportunities for teammates and spacing the floor rather than taking selfish shots.

Kohler, in particular, was a key part of the offense. When doubled in the post, he consistently found an open teammate and kept the ball moving.

The success of this year’s seniors has been a long time coming.

Izzo has long made a point of developing young players under older veterans. As freshmen, Cooper and Kohler battled for unpredictable minutes behind seniors Malik Hall and Mady Sissoko. They learned invaluable lessons in that role and passed them on to freshmen Jordan Scott and Cam Ward this season.

“Our two seniors have helped me a lot,” Scott said earlier this season. “Obviously, they know the ins and outs of being here for so long, and they’ve taught me a lot.”

Cooper, Kohler and Sanders are the latest Spartans to spend all four years under head coach Tom Izzo. The two starting big men, Cooper and Kohler, have made a name for themselves over the past two seasons as key parts of the offensive attack while providing tough defense.

Cooper has evolved from an old-school back-to-the-basket center into a more versatile scoring big with a reliable midrange shot and improved post moves. This season, he’s averaging 10.4 points and 7.1 rebounds, a five-point per game jump from last year.

“In my head, I wanted to get to where I am now. So I had to have the faith in myself and have the faith in my coaches and the development that they put me through,” Cooper said. “So I think it's cooler to see that come full circle now.”

For Kohler, the biggest improvement has been his three-point shooting.

Kohler attempted just nine three-pointers in his first two seasons but has shot 38.2% from deep over the last two years on 176 attempts. This year, he is averaging 12.5 points per game, second on the team, along with 9.2 rebounds per game, which ranks third in the Big Ten.

Kohler said it's been special to be a part of MSU for so long. The senior forward said he’ll miss everything about being a Spartan, from Coach Izzo's rampages to celebrating big wins. 

“People don't stay in school long enough, and that kind of adds another level of how special it is to stay here four years and really grind it out,” Kohler said. 

After practice this week, Izzo said Cooper and his four-year seniors are what's right about the sport. He complimented their work ethic and loyalty to a program over their entire career.

“He's what's right about it for me," Izzo said. “He is, I think, the epitome of a college basketball player. It's a love affair between [the fans] and him, between our staff and him and it definitely is between the other players and him. And let's hope that better things are yet to come for him and us now, and for him in the future.”

Against Rutgers, the five seniors combined for 31 points, though Sanders and Wojcik didn’t score. They played out the final tumultuous two minutes of game time, nearly letting the win slip away. MSU led by 14 with a minute and 55 seconds left, but Rutgers went on a crusade with a tough full-court press and sharp three-point shooting.

The Scarlet Knights forced two turnovers and hit three difficult shots from deep to cut the lead to two with five seconds remaining.

Sealing the game was Jeremy Fears Jr., who received the inbound pass, drew a foul and hit two clutch free throws. Fears finished with 21 points, shooting 70% from the field. The Spartans' floor general had 8 assists, passing Magic Johnson in the MSU single-season assist list. Fears now sits two dimes behind Mateen Cleaves in third and 19 back of Cassius Winston in first.

In his sophomore year, Kohler missed extended time at the beginning of the season with an injury. NCAA eligibility rules allow a player to appeal for a fifth-year with a Medical Hardship Waiver due to an injury in a past season. Kohler said he has no plans of pursuing that and will end his Spartan career this season. 

“I'm not going to use my fifth year. I feel like what I've done here has been really special,” Kohler said. “I feel like how this is all wrapping up is how it should be. The way I want to go out is to win a Big Ten Championship and a national championship.”

It was an emotional night for Cooper, Kohler, Sanders, Wojick and Fort, who have gone through their own versions of adversity this season.

MSU now travels to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in the regular-season finale. Kohler said walking out and kissing the Spartan head logo was incredible, adding that his entire MSU career “flashed before his eyes.”

“Every time I was there for senior night, I never really thought about what my senior moment would look like for me, because in some way, I never thought mine would come,” Kohler said. “I thought that it was so far away, you never think it would blow by as fast as it did.”