EAST LANSING – The Michigan State Spartans delivered a commanding performance against the USC Trojans, winning 80-51 on Monday night at the Breslin Center. This victory not only improved the Spartans” record to 13-2 and 3-1 in the Big Ten but also celebrated Tom Izzo“s 750th career win.
In the opening moments, both teams struggled with their shooting, which allowed USC to take an early lead. However, Izzo noted the team”s improvement in the second half, stating, “After that start, because it was kind of an ugly start, I thought we did a lot of good things in the second half. We kept building on it and that was really good for us.”
Guard Jeremy Fears reflected on the team”s bounce back from a narrow loss to Nebraska, emphasizing the need to refocus on defense: “We have goals and stuff that we talk about and we weren”t doing that. We really want to get back to our defensive principles and being us.”
Izzo also commented on USC”s defensive strategy, particularly regarding Coen Carr, who was given open looks from beyond the arc. He advised, “I just said if they want to come off that far, then just back them in, which he did a much better job of, got to the free throw line.” Carr finished the game with 18 points and six rebounds, after overcoming a slow start from three-point range.
Another standout for Michigan State was Jaxon Kohler, who achieved a perfect shooting night, going 6-for-6 from the field and scoring 16 points along with eight rebounds. Izzo praised Kohler”s work ethic, saying, “Jaxon, I think if you ask the players, is probably the hardest-working guy I”ve got. He maxes out on the number of shots a week. … He”s earned everything he”s got.” Kohler, now shooting over 53 percent from three-point range this season, expressed his commitment to his role: “I”m just going to keep playing my role, playing my shot selection and keep shooting it.”
In a light-hearted moment, Izzo humorously recalled a sideline discussion with Fears: “I asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner where he”d like to go and I didn”t agree with the place he wanted to go so I told him he was full of it.”
Freshman Jordan Scott also contributed, scoring eight points and providing valuable defense, which caught Izzo”s attention: “I think Jordan Scott has been one of our unsung heroes for a freshman. He”s done a lot of really good things. He”s been close to starting, we just felt like we didn”t want to put that pressure on him.”
Highlighting a memorable moment in the game, Kohler shared his reaction to Carr”s spectacular dunk, which came over two defenders: “I saw it all over social media, it”s so funny. You see that in real time in a game and you see Coen do that, it just leaves you speechless. It never gets tiring.”
In a more serious tone, Izzo commented on a situation involving former center Paul Davis, who was ejected during the game: “He kind of got after the official and he was 150 percent wrong and for a guy like me to 150 percent agree with the official, it”s almost illegal.”
With this impressive victory, the Spartans will look to maintain their momentum as they continue their season.
