No. 15 Michigan State Uses Big First Half, Four in Double Figures as Spartans Beat UCLA, 82-59

Tuesday, February 17

East Lansing, Mich.

8:30 PM

Michigan State University

21-5,11-4Big Ten

UCLA

17-9,9-6Big Ten

UCLA

Michigan St.

No. 15 Michigan State Uses Big First Half, Four in Double Figures as Spartans Beat UCLA, 82-59

2/17/2026 10:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook UCLA at Michigan St. 17 February Michigan State 82, UCLA 59 Post-Game Quotes

East Lansing, Mich. – No. 15 Michigan State opened a 20-point lead at halftime and led by as many as 31 points in the second half en route to an 82-59 win over UCLA on Tuesday night at the Breslin Center.

Redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists, junior forward Coen Carr scored 16 points along with three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal, senior center Carson Cooper had 2 points and seven rebounds and freshman forward Jordan Scott added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Senior forward Jaxon Kohler had nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Records
Michigan State improves 21-5 overall and 11-4 in the Big Ten Conference, while UCLA falls to 17-9 and 9-6 in league play.

Recap

Michigan State led for all but four minutes in the game, had a 20-point lead at halftime (43-23) and led by as many as 31 points (72-41) in the second half.
A four-point play from UCLA's Tyler Bilodeau cut the MSU lead to 43-27 coming out of the break but that was as close as the Bruins would get as sophomore guard Kur Teng hit a 3-pointer (14:04) and Fears fed Carr for an alley-oop (13:41) pushing the lead up to 24 points, 60-36, with 13:41 left.
MSU took its biggest lead of the game, 72-41, on a 3-pointer from Carr (Fears assist) with 7:20 left.
The Spartans jumped out to a 20-point lead at the break, 43-23, after connecting on 57.7 percent of their first half field goals and hitting 8-of-14 shots from 3-point land (57.1%).
UCLA scored the first two baskets of the game on a jumper from Tyler Biloldeau and a layup from Donovan Dent but MSU quickly regained the lead after a 3-pointer from Scott and a dunk from Carr.
The Bruins led, 9-7, after a 3-pointer from Eric Dailey Jr. before MSU went on an 8-0 run over 1:23, taking 15-9 lead on a Fears 3-pointer at 14:08.
That was part of a 26-3 run over 9:23 as the Spartans took a 33-12 lead on a 3-pointer from Scott with 6:10 to play in the half.
The Spartans took their biggest lead of the half, 38-14, on free throws from Cooper with 4:27 on the block before halftime.

Key Stats

Michigan State connected on 52.7 percent of its field goals (29-of-55), including 51.9 percent from 3-point land (14-of-27).
MSU had a 37-27 advantage on the boards, collected eight offensive rebounds and scored 12 second-chance points.
The Spartans handed out 21 assists on 29 made field goals (72.4%).
MSU connected on 10-of-11 free throws (90.9%).

Notes

Michigan State trails the all-time series with UCLA, 8-5.
- MSU is now 2-1 all-time at home against the Bruins.
- MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo is now 4-5 all-time against UCLA.
Izzo's career record is now 758-307 in his 31st year at the helm of the MSU program, including a
The win was the 500th all-time win at the Breslin Center for Michigan State.
- The Spartans are now 500-70 all-time at home since the Breslin Center opened in 1989, including a 267-61 mark in Big Ten play.
- Under Head Coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans are 426-63 at the Breslin, including a 227-48 conference record.
MSU is 13-2 at home this season.
The Spartans are 2-2 in February.
MSU is 7-0 in games played on Tuesday and 15-4 in night games.
The Spartans are 16-1 when leading in the half.
- This was the first time in the last six games MSU had led at the half.
Michigan State scored 82 points, the 13th time this season scoring at least 80 points (13-0).
- The Spartans are 19-3 when scoring at least 70 points this season.
MSU limited UCLA to 59 points, the ninth time holding an opponent below 60 points (8-1).
The Spartans finished the game shooting 52.7 percent from the field (29-of-55), the 11th time shooting at least 50 percent (11-0).
MSU hit a season-high 14 shots from 3-point land and connected on 51.9 percent for the game (14-of-27), the second-highest mark this season.
- The 14 3-pointers were the most by MSU against a Big Ten team since hitting 16 at Nebraska on Feb. 28, 2023.
MSU limited UCLA to 36.8 percent shooting from the floor (21-of-57), the 16th time this season holding an opponent below 40 percent.
Michigan State out-rebounded UCLA (37-27), the 23rd time controlling the boards this season (21-2).
The Spartans handed out 21 assists, the eighth time this season with at least 20 assists.
Coen Carr led the team in scoring with 16 points, while adding three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.
- This was his 15th game in double figures this year and the 29th of his career.
- He has led the team in scoring five times this year and eight in his career.
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 16 points and handed out a game-high 10 assists.
- Fears has scored in double figures in each of the last 14 games.
- He has scored in double figures 20 times this year and 32 for his career.
- This was the 12th time this season with at least 10 assists and the 14th of his career.
- He recorded his ninth double-double of the season and the 10th of his career.
- Fears has led the team in assists 26 times this year and 48 for his career.
- His 10 assists pushed his season total to 241, tied for the fourth-most in a single season in MSU history, alongside Cassius Winston (241, 2017-18) and Denzel Valentine (241, 2015-16) … He needs one more to pass them for fourth place alone and 29 more to pass Earvin Johnson (269, 1978-79) for third all-time.
Jordan Scott scored 11 points and grabbed three rebounds and had two assists.
- This was his sixth career game in double figures.
Carson Cooper scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots.
- He has scored in double figures 14 times this year and 18 for his career.
Jaxon Kohler scored nine points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
- He has 12 games with double-figure rebounds this year and 24 for his career.
- He has led the team in rebounding 15 times this season and 36 for his career.

Up Next
Michigan State plays the second game of a two-game homestand on Sunday, Feb. 22 against Ohio State at the Breslin Center. The game airs live on CBS at 1 p.m., with Kevin Harlan and Robbie Hummel on the call.