Tuesday, October 28
Hartford, Conn.
7:30 PM
Michigan State University
0-0,0-0Big Ten
69
at
76
Connecticut (Exhibition)
0-0,0-0Big East
1
2
F
Michigan St.
33
36
69
UConn
44
32
76
No. 22 Michigan State Falls Short to No. 4 UConn, 76-69, in Final Exhibition Game
10/28/2025 11:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD, Conn. – Michigan State's men's basketball fell behind in the first half and cut the lead to single digits midway through the second half but No. 4 Connecticut held on for a 76-69 win over the 22nd-ranked Spartans in an exhibition game at PeoplesBank Arena on Tuesday night.
Four players scored in double figures for MSU, with redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led the way with 14 points and six assists, while senior center Carson Cooper had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and senior forward Jaxon Kohler had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior forward Coen Carr finished with 11 points and two rebounds.
Recap
Michigan State opens the 2025-26 regular season on Monday, Nov. 3, hosting Colgate. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will air live on B1G+.
Four players scored in double figures for MSU, with redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led the way with 14 points and six assists, while senior center Carson Cooper had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and senior forward Jaxon Kohler had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Junior forward Coen Carr finished with 11 points and two rebounds.
Recap
- Michigan State didn't hit a 2-point basket for the first 12-plus minutes, had more free throws (17-of-22) than field goals (7-of-20), committed eight turnovers, saw UConn score 16 points off those and still went into halftime trailing by just 11 points.
- A 3-pointer from junior forward Coen Carr at the 15:41 mark cut the Huskies lead to 50-42 and a driving layup from sophomore Divine Ugochukwu made it 52-44 with 13:17 left to play.
- On the next UConn possession, Ugochukwu was called for a flagrant foul, UConn's Alex Karaban hit both free throws and the Huskies got back-to-back 3-pointers from Jayden Ross and Malachi Smith and the lead was pushed up to 16 points, 60-44.
- The Huskies took their biggest lead of the game, 63-44, on a 3-pointer from Karaban with 11:26 to play, capping an 11-0 run.
- MSU fought back over the final 7:40, out-scoring the Huskies, 17-7, over that span and pulled to within 76-69 with 10 seconds left following a conventional three-point play from freshman forward Jordan Scott.
- The Spartans fell behind early in the game, with a trio of turnovers and missed shots over the opening minutes of the game giving UConn leads of 8-1 and 13-4 in the first seven minutes.
- MSU struggled from the field and went through the first 12-plus minutes with two made field goals – 3-pointers from Ugochukwu and senior Trey Fort – before a driving from Carr with 13:24 to play made it 26-15.
- The Huskies took their biggest lead of the half, 43-29, on a 3-pointer from Karaban with 1:22 to play before baskets from Carr and Fears cut the deficit to 44-33 at the break.
- In the first half, Michigan State committed eight turnovers and was outscored 16-3 in points off turnovers.
- UConn had a 20-14 advantage on the boards in the first half and collected eight offensive boards and had a 15-2 edge in second-chance points.
- The Spartans hit just two field goals in the first 12-plus minutes of the game and were just 7-of-20 from the floor (35.0 percent).
- Despite being out-rebounded 38-34 overall, the Spartans had a 20-18 edge on the boards in the second half, grabbing nine offensive rebounds and holding an 11-2 advantage in second-chance points.
- Michigan State finished the game shooting 65.9 percent from the free throw line (29-of-44), hitting 77.3 percent in the first half (17-of-22) and just 54.5 percent in the second half (12-0f-22).
Michigan State opens the 2025-26 regular season on Monday, Nov. 3, hosting Colgate. The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will air live on B1G+.
Team Stats
MSU
UConn
FG%
.391
.423
3FG%
.286
.375
FT%
.659
.767
RB
34
38
TO
12
11
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballTom Izzo Post Game Comments | BGSU | Oct. 23 2025
Thursday, October 23
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Oct. 16 2025
Thursday, October 16
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Apr. 16 2025
Wednesday, April 16
Tom Izzo | Men's Basketball Press Conference | Mar. 25 2025
Tuesday, March 25