Michigan State basketball hangs on to lock up Big Ten triple-bye
· Yahoo Sports
EAST LANSING – The youngsters stole the show on Michigan State basketball’s senior day. Even though the Spartans’ seniors farewell did not go fondly or as planned. Other than leaving Breslin Center with a victory.
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And a massive scare.
No. 8 MSU had four straight dunks as part of a 19-2 run and appeared headed toward an easy fifth straight win. But Rutgers rallied after Izzo turned to a five-senior lineup that nearly melted away all of a 19-point lead before the Spartans hung on for a 91-87 victory Thursday, March 5.
MSU took a 15-point lead on two Carson Cooper free throws with 1:15 to play, but the Scarlet Knights scored 19 points in a furious final 1:11. That included four 3-pointers – one of them a 4-point play – and two stolen inbound passes.
Izzo needed to put back in his starters to escape with a win, and the Spartans did, barely, as Rutgers made it a two-point game with 3.8 seconds to play before MSU got two Jeremy Fears Jr. free throws and a steal at the buzzer.
Fears Jr., a third-year sophomore, had 21 points for his 17th straight game in double figures and added eight assists. Junior Coen Carr finished with 21 points and six rebounds. Seniors Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper combined for 29 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman Cam Ward added nine points and nine rebounds.
Fears also was called for another foul with his foot with 10:56 to play on a drive by Lino Mark, reaching for the ball as the Rutgers guard stumbled over Fears’ leg in what appeared to be an inadvertent trip. The MSU point guard was issued a technical foul as he pointed to the video board to argue the call. Fears also had issues using his feet and legs in the first Michigan game, against Illinois and against Minnesota.
Tariq Francis had 25 points for Rutgers (12-18, 5-14), which trailed 83-68 before his 4-point play with 1:11 to play that sparked a comeback. Mark added 14 points, while Emmanuel Ogbole had 13. Kaden Powers scored eight of his 11 points in the final minute.
Big Ten Tournament picture for the Spartans
With the win, the Spartans locked up a triple-bye in next week’s Big Ten tournament, meaning they’ll start in the quarterfinals in Chicago on Friday, March 13, as either the 2-, 3- or 4-seed. (Michigan has the 1-seed locked up already.) A win in their finale would clinch the 2-seed and a 6:30 p.m. tipoff at United Center on Big Ten Network.
Next up for Michigan State
But before then, MSU has that finale remaining: a visit to Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Sunday (4:30 p.m., CBS) against No. 3 Michigan. The Wolverines won the first meeting between the two, in East Lansing on Jan. 30, and will be playing to establish their bona fides as a potential No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Senior thoughts
Senior night started with a memorable and emotional moment, as Kohler’s great-grandfather, 102-year-old Earl Jay “Chuck” Kohler, was honored for his service at Pearl Harbor and in World War II.
The Spartans’ veterans each had their own big moments afterward. And then a near meltdown.
Cooper hit a hook shot off a Fears assist early, and Kohler used some nifty footwork for a baseline spin-move before powering his way to the basket for a layup.
Denham Wojcik took over for Fears at point guard with 9:31 to go in the first half, and he delivered an over-the-shoulder, no-look lob to Cooper for an alley-oop that put MSU ahead 18-14. Then after a Cooper turnaround jumper on the right block, Wojcik stepped in front of Rutgers’ Lino Mark for a charging foul with 5:27 to go before halftime.
And Wojcik would be needed again after Fears picked up his second foul with 3:25 before the break, and Wojcik replaced him with 1:20 to go and the Spartans trailing by three. With 57 seconds left in the half, Carr scored on a layup – thanks to a loose-ball save from Kohler, then another from Ward – and then scored on a pair of free throws to send MSU into halftime up, 31-30.
Kohler drained a 3-pointer 1:40 into the second half to make it an 11-0 carryover run. He also had a putback bucket and another deft move, pump-faking at the 3-point line and driving from the left wing, then making another pump-fake at the rim for a layup.
Kohler finished with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting with seven rebounds. Cooper had 14 points and six boards.
Near collapse
When Mark attacked the basket and Fears extended his leg, with the Rutgers guard sliding into the basket stanchion, Fears’ reaction drew a technical – his fourth foul. Wojcik again became needed. And the Harvard transfer delivered his third assist on a drive-and-kick to Carr for a 3-pointer with 6:13 to play that grew MSU’s lead to 19 points.
Izzo inserted his all-senior lineup to give them a fond farewell with 1:15 to play, with hopes of giving them a chance to have their ceremonial midcourt goodbye. But that group had a near-melt down.
Wojcik immediately fouled Francis for a 4-point play, and then Trey Fort’s ensuing inbound pass was stolen. Rutgers’ Powers drilled another 3 from the left corner for seven points in just 2 seconds of game play. The Spartans’ lead had been 15 on a pair of Cooper free throws with 1:15 left.
But Wwith 50.2 seconds left, the ball found its way back to Fort, who was fouled. The sixth-year senior transfer, in his first year at MSU, hit a pair of free throws. Again, Powers countered with a 3-pointer to make it 85-78 with 42.8 seconds left. Wojcik had to call timeout on the ensuing inbound pass to avoid a 5-second violation.
Fears, Carr and Scott all came back into the game at that point. Rutgers fouled Fears, and he hit two at the line with 39.4 seconds to play. Francis drove for a layup, then the Scarlet Knights again stole an MSU inbound pass and got a Powers layup with 20.8 ticks remaining.
Cooper split a pair of free throws with 11.4 seconds left to make it 89-84, but Darren Buchanan Jr. drilled another 3-pointer to make it a two-point game with 3.8 left. Fears got fouled and hit two free throws, and then poked away a last-ditch drive as time expired.
Izzo did not get his seniors back in, and the players did not get to kiss the Spartan logo at midcourt during the game.
Takeover run
MSU entered knowing Rutgers would provide a physical, gritty test. The Scarlet Knights did just that on Jan. 27, when they led by as many as a 12 points. The Spartans stormed back in that one behind Fears, pulling off an 88-79 overtime comeback.
On Thursday, Rutgers – which has never won in eight games at Breslin Center and 10 games at MSU – capitalized on the haze of senior day and stuck with the Spartans throughout a back-and-forth first half.
But the Spartans delivered a 19-2 knockout between the final minute of the first half and first 4:27 of the second. Carr scored the first four of those points before halftime, then ignited Breslin and his teammates with three straight dunks. The first came off an over-the-top pass in transition from Fears, then Fears lobbed a pass from the right wing as Carr cut from the left corner and elevated for the alley-oop. Then moments later, Fears again found Carr on the break for a lob and another dunk.
When Scott drove from the corner and threw down a two-handed jam, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell was forced to call timeout to try and quell the MSU momentum. But after a bucket by the Scarlet Knights, Carr continued his big game with a driving layup, then Fears hit a pair of free throws and a driving layup. Ward then delivered yet another alley-oop off a feed from Kur Teng.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball edges Rutgers on emotional senior day