Couch: 3 quick takes (from afar) on Michigan State basketball’s 88-79 escape in overtime at Rutgers

Basketball 1. Fears has been great, but he showed greatness Tuesday at Rutgers

This was Jeremy Fears Jr.’s actual masterpiece, in a game that was the furthest thing from it for Michigan State’s basketball team.

His 17-point, 17-assist performance in a feel-good home win Saturday? Great. But MSU would have beaten Maryland that day with Tom Izzo’s mother at point guard. Tuesday night at Rutgers, the Spartans needed every bit of grit and scoring from their All-American-caliber point guard to escape an upset that would have lingered the rest of the season.

People like to compare Fears to MSU legend Mateen Cleaves, and they do have some similar traits on a basketball court. It’s no longer premature to do so. Because what Fears did in Tuesday’s 88-79 overtime win is what Cleaves used to do — put MSU on his back when anything less would have spelled defeat, sometimes in games like this.

This was the game everyone with any emotional investment in MSU’s basketball team feared — an unsuspecting conference road game, against a struggling team, that goes wrong and derails the vibes and momentum of this MSU season, while damaging the Spartans’ Big Ten title hopes and perhaps, down the road, drops them a seed line in the NCAA tournament. 

Instead, none of that happened. Largely because Fears scored 27 of his 29 points in the second half and overtime, attacking the rim with purpose, executing at the free-throw line with poise, hitting 16 of 17 free throws. He also had six of his nine assists after halftime, turning a loss into a win.

For 38 minutes, it did not look like the Spartans were going to find a way to pull this out. Some of the credit belongs to Rutgers. For much of the game, you’d have never guessed which team was ranked No. 4 in Kenpom and which team was No. 159. MSU let Rutgers get comfortable at home and Rutgers played with confidence, like this was their game to have. It’s scary when shooters get hot in their home building and the crowd gets behind them and suddenly nothing is easy. I think the Spartans might have underestimated Tariq Francis, Harun Zrno and Darren Buchanan. I know I did.

Fears kept the Spartans within striking distance for most of the second half. But his final two minutes of regulation is what should really be remembered. It began with a darting layup to cut the deficit to 67-64 with 1:52 remaining. Then he sold an offensive foul on a Zrno screen on the other end (which was a foul), before driving around a screen from Jaxon Kohler into an open lane and finishing while being fouled, his free throw tying the game for the first time since 13-13. 

Then, down 70-67, Fears drove, missed, pushed off a little on the rebound (nothing so egregious it was seen), and put back his own miss. Then, down three again, he attacked and was fouled and hit one of two free throws, his only miss from the stripe all night. 

Finally, down 73-70, in the waning seconds, he found Divine Ugochukwu in the corner for Ugochukwu’s game-tying 3 — a massive, gutsy shot, and a great find to set it up.

Fears played overtime with four fouls and scored 10 points, including another exploding layup for an 80-75 lead with a couple minutes left that felt like a clincher, even if his next eight free throws actually clinched it.

And so MSU is 19-2 overall and 9-1 in the Big Ten as it hits the turn and faces its rival. All the momentum still in place. Fears did that, pulling out a win that was barely deserved.

Basketball 2. Beyond Fears, Carr rescued this game for MSU

Fears carried the Spartans. Ugochukwu hit the shot of the night and is now responsible for saving the Spartans twice in Big Ten play against lesser competition on the road. Jordan Scott, who struggled with a tough matchup at times, made a couple important plays — a put-back bucket and then an offensive rebound in overtime that crushed Rutgers’ hopes. Jaxon Kohler, who, for several games, hasn’t been shooting or rebounding at the clip he was, missed a couple big 3-point shots, but had a critical post-move bucket while being fouled for an old-fashioned 3-point play in overtime. Carson Cooper, who also struggled against a tough matchup defensively and wasn’t as clean with the ball in his hands as he has been, had some big rebounds (finishing with 14) and his alley-oops from Fears, for a while, were MSU’s only offense.

But outside of Fears, no one was consistently bigger in this game for MSU when it mattered than Coen Carr, who came through with a loud 13 points, eight rebounds and one block.

Ugochukwu’s 3 might have tied the game, but MSU doesn’t get close enough for that shot to tie it if Coen Carr doesn’t bury a 3-pointer from the corner late in the shot clock with 3:51 remaining to cut the deficit to 65-60. The Spartans were just hanging on for dear life at that point, trading buckets, trying to keep up.

That was Carr’s second 3, his first a high-arcing 3-pointer from the left side to cut the deficit to 35-23. He had a put-back on a Kur Teng miss in the second half to cut the difference to 58-51. And he had important and decisive rebounds when Rutgers was doing a good job of knocking the ball away from Cooper and Kohler. 

That Carr hit two consequential 3s and scored on a Euro-step drive and dunk were two examples of where his game has evolved since last season — the outside shots especially. He’s now 7-for-11 from 3 over his last four games, after a 2-for-22 stretch before that. That he’s found his confidence again and is playing as he is, is really important for MSU in the days and weeks ahead.

Basketball 3. Finally, Jan. 30 arrives

MSU’s game this Friday night against Michigan felt a long way off for a long time. It’s finally arrived, with two rivals, a combined 38-3 overall and 18-2 in the Big Ten, meeting at Breslin Center for the most anticipated game in this rivalry since before the pandemic. 

Michigan’s 75-72 come-from-behind home win against Nebraska on Tuesday night — while MSU was tussling with Rutgers — allowed both teams to reach this point in a fairly unblemished state. This one will be telling about both of these teams. Michigan no longer appears to be the untouchable juggernaut they were earlier, but the Wolverines still have an argument as the best team in the Big Ten. They’re probably the most talented. Friday will tell us more.

Other than MSU’s escape at Rutgers, there’s nothing among their common opponents that really separates them. You get at least three points for being home, per the Vegas line. Michigan beat Nebraska by three at home. MSU lost to Nebraska by two on the road. It’s essentially the same result.

Both teams had similar recent results out west against Oregon and Washington. Both teams nearly found a way to lose at Penn State. Both teams drilled USC at home.

Now we get to see what it looks like head to head. Not for the Big Ten title yet or even to decide the season series – they’ll meet again in Ann Arbor in March. But this will give us a sense of things.

MORE: Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State’s 2026 football schedule

Contact Graham Couch at gc****@*sj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.