The University of Michigan's sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) prepares to score over Michigan State at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Sunday, March 8, 2026.
In a game of inches, No. 8 Michigan State played some of its best basketball. But in the final game of the regular season, the Spartans learned that sometimes their best isn’t enough.
No. 3 Michigan (29-2, 19-1) topped MSU (25-6, 15-5) 90-80 behind a steady diet of 3-pointers and a physical attack in the paint.
UM had the right game plan to beat the Spartans. They limited MSU to nine points in transition and were far more physical in every facet of the game.
MSU played into Michigan’s strengths, something teams cannot do if they hope to beat one of the top teams in the NET rankings.
After the game, MSU head coach Tom Izzo said he was proud of his team’s effort, especially from Jeremy Fears Jr., in a game where mistakes were costly.
“I thought our guys hung in there just great, and we just didn't make the plays and they did make the plays,” Izzo said. “That's why they're 29-2, deservingly so.”
The Wolverines converted on nearly every trip into the paint and knocked down difficult 3-pointers. Their skill and shots under pressure were key in MSU’s sixth loss of the season.
It marked the first time since the 2013-14 season that Michigan beat MSU twice in the regular season.
Izzo defended his team after Michigan fans chanted “little brother” late in the game.
“I guess the crowd didn’t watch the game, because I’m nobody’s damn little brother.
MSU relied on strong performances from Jeremy Fears Jr., Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler but struggled to generate offense beyond them.
Jaxon Kohler took over the game in the half-court for much of the game.
The Spartan big man scored 23 points in a variety of ways: on the block, in transition and from beyond the arc with a pair of 3-pointers.
After a slow start, Kohler was a presence on the block, backing down different Wolverines. Both he and Cooper repeatedly spun past defenders and finished off the glass.
Despite Kohler’s prowess, he scored once in the final 14 minutes of the contest.
Fears followed with 22 points, going 10-for-12 from the free-throw line. Cooper had a much stronger first half than second, and netted 19 on 57% shooting.
The rest of the Spartans shot just 6-for-24 from the field.
Michigan opened the game playing to its strengths, using a downhill attack that put pressure on MSU’s big men early.
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Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Yaxel Lendeborg scored 27 points, while UM hit 10-of-22 shots from deep.
The first ten minutes of the contest were chippy and physical, with three technical fouls being assessed, including one on Fears for kicking Elliot Cadeau. The technical foul on Fears drew endless boos from the Crisler Center crowd. Fears was called for a technical foul in a similar instance when the two teams faced off in East Lansing in January.
“I don't think he did anything on purpose. I think it was a reaction. I don't know the whole deal about it. It was a critical play,” Izzo said. “I'm sick of it being one-sided, though. That's what upset me about the first time. So Fears will get his lunch from me. I wonder if some of their guys will get their lunch from what happened in the first game that didn't get public.”
After starting 1-for-8 from the field in the half court, MSU found its rhythm in the final eight minutes of the half.
The Spartans shot 9-for-16 in the span and took their first lead since the beginning of the game with two minutes to play. The Wolverines went into the break up one.
MSU’s biggest setbacks in the first twenty minutes were a plethora of fouls — seven in the first eight minutes, and a failure to convert on Michigan mistakes. MSU was 1-for-5 on possessions following Michigan turnovers.
As they did in the first match a month ago, the Spartans came out hot in the second half, taking a four-point lead with 13 to go. After that moment, UM went on a 9-0 run and never lost the lead again.
With eight and a half minutes left, Michigan traveled down the court in transition. Fears blocked the initial alley-oop attempt, but Will Tschetter got the rebound and kicked it to McKenney, who pushed the lead to 5, erupting the UM crowd to its loudest of the entire game.
The play shifted the momentum for the rest of the game.
In games like these, Izzo said having momentum at the right time is big.
“It wasn't that they hit threes off the ball screen. They hit threes by penetrating,” Izzo said. “When you penetrate like that, that's why you give up those three offensive rebounds that we did twice late.”
In the final ten minutes, MSU kept it close, but the momentum never swung away from the Wolverines. With every score, UM had a quick answer. MSU didn’t do itself any favors either. Cam Ward drew three fouls in the first half and a costly fourth on Lendeborg in the second. The freshman forward, following a string of good performances, didn’t score and had just one rebound.
The MSU bench scored just eight points compared to Michigan’s 29.
In the final two and a half minutes, MSU had a slew of empty possessions while Michigan poured it on. An alley-oop from Lendeborg to Morez Johnson Jr. effectively sealed the game with two minutes remaining.
After the loss, MSU sits third in the conference following Nebraska’s win. MSU will play either UCLA, Rutgers or Minnesota in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, March 14, on CBS. Izzo said moving forward, his team will have to learn from the loss while not making mistakes down the stretch.
“We’re gonna make it miserable for someone [in the tournament],” Izzo said. “I thought we did good enough.”
