Spartans Headed Back to Sweet 16 After Defeating Louisville, 77-69, in NCAA Tournament Second Round

Saturday, March 21

Buffalo, N.Y.

2:45 p.m.

Michigan State University

27-7,15-5Big Ten

(6) Louisville

24-11,11-7ACC

Team	1	2	F
Louisville	31	38	69
Michigan St.	36	41	77

Coen Carr dunks against Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 21.

Spartans Headed Back to Sweet 16 After Defeating Louisville, 77-69, in NCAA Tournament Second Round

3/21/2026 5:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Louisville book Michigan State 77, Louisville 69 Post Game Quotes Louisville

BUFFALO, N.Y. – – Led by a Spartan NCAA Tournament record 16 assists from redshirt sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and 21 points from junior forward Coen Carr, third-seeded Michigan State topped sixth-seeded Louisville, 77-69, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the KeyBank Center.

With the win, Michigan State is headed to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row and the 17th time overall under Hall of Fame Coach Tom Izzo. The Spartans will face the winner of No. 2 seed UConn/No. 7 seed UCLA on Friday, March 27 in the East Regional semifinal in Washington, D.C.

Fears' 16 assists surpassed Magic Johnson's previous record of 14 assists against Western Kentucky on March 16, 1978. Fears also scored 12 points and had three rebounds.

Carr was electric with three dunks and two 3-pointers among his 21 points, his career high in an NCAA Tournament game. He also had a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds and was 8-of-13 shooting overall along with two blocks.

Four Spartans scored in double-figures, as senior guard Trey Fort tallied 12 points with three 3-pointers and senior forward Jaxon Kohler chipped in 10 points with six rebounds.

Records
Michigan State 27-7 overall record while Louisville concludes its season at 24-11.

Recap

MSU led by five points (36-31) at the break and were ahead by just three points, 50-47, after a 3-pointer from Louisville's Aly Khalifa before going on a 13-3 run over 5:05, taking a 63-50 lead on a 3-pointer from Kohler with 6:40 left.
Carr hit a 3-pointer, his second of the game, with 4:46 left to put MSU back on top by 13 points, 66-53 and then hit two free throws at the 2:41 mark to give the Spartans a 68-56 advantage with 2:28 remaining.
Louisville cut the lead to 75-69 with just 11 seconds left, but Fears' 16th assist of the game, this time to senior center Carson Cooper for a dunk, capped off the win and made the final 77-69.
Michigan State led at the half by five points (36-31) and used a 6-2 run over the opening 1:40 of the second half to push the lead to 42-33 after back-to-back dunks from Carr, the latter at 18:20 forcing Louisville to call a timeout.
The Cardinals pulled to within five points, 42-37, after a basket from Sananda Fu and within 44-40 before a free throw from sophomore guard Kur Teng (14:31) and a 3-pointer from Fort (11:17) pushed the lead back to 48-40.
MSU still led 50-43 after a jumper from Fears at 13:08 before the Cardinals pulled to within 50-47, settling up the final minutes.
The Spartans went into the break with a 36-31 lead, with eight different players scoring and Carr leading the way with seven points.
Louisville jumped on top with a pair of baskets and led 7-5 before a 9-0 MSU run over 1:33, capped by a 3-pointer from Teng at 14:24, gave the Spartans a 14-7 lead.
Rodgers hit a pair of free throws at 13:45 to narrow the gap to 14-12, but MSU responded with an 8-0 run over 3:02, taking a 22-12 lead on a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Cooper.
The Cardinals would cut the lead to 24-19 before Teng hit another trey, pushing the MSU lead to 27-19 with 7:33 left.
A four-point play from Fort gave the Spartans a 31-23 lead with 3:46 to play and Fears hit a 3-pointer to give MSU a 36-28 lead with 2:17 to play.
Louisville scored the final three points of the half to make it 36-31 at the break.

Key Stats

MSU held Louisville to 69 points, just the second time this season the Cardinals were held to fewer than 70 points.
Michigan State shot 47.3 percent from the floor (26-of-55), including 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from 3-point land … The Spartans hit 50.0 percent of their 3-pointers in the first half (7-of-14).
MSU had a 39-32 advantage in rebounding.
The Spartans grabbed seven of their 11 offensive rebounds in in the second half, when they scored 10 of their 14 second-chance points.
MSU held Louisville to 41.3 percent shooting from the floor, including 35.1 percent from 3-point land.

Notes

The Spartans now have an all-time record of 78-37 in NCAA Tournament games.
Since 1998, the Spartans are 17-5 in their second NCAA Tournament game.
This will be MSU's 19th trip to the Sweet 16 since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, including the 17th under Head Coach Tom Izzo.
Izzo is now 61-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
Under Izzo, the Spartans are now a remarkable 26-9 in the second round of an NCAA Tournament weekend.
Michigan State now has a 3-2 edge against Louisville in NCAA Tournament games and Izzo is 3-1 against the Cardinals in the NCAA Tournament.
Izzo's career record is now 764-309 in his 31st year at the helm of the MSU program.
This was the 24th time the Spartans have shot at least 45.0 percent from the floor (23-1).
MSU is 25-1 when out-shooting its opponent (47.3 percent to 41.3 percent).
The Spartans hit 11 shots from 3-point land, the 11th time this season with at least 10 makes (9-2).
- The 11 3-pointers made are tied for the third-most in a single-game in MSU NCAA Tournament history.
- The team's 26 attempts are tied for the fifth-most
Michigan State handed out 22 assists, the 12th time this season with at least 20.
MSU has a 6-1 record on neutral floors this year
The Spartans are 20-1 when leading at the half.
MSU outrebounded the Cardinals, 39-32, the 29th time controlling the boards (26-3).
The Spartans are 4-2 in March, 7-1 in games played on Saturday and 10-2 in day games.
Coen Carr scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
- This was the third time this season he has scored at least 20 points.
- He has scored in double figures 19 times this year (33 career).
- This was his seventh time leading the team in scoring (10th career).
- It was the first game of his career with at least 10 rebounds.
- It was the fifth time leading the team in rebounding this year (seventh career).
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 12 points and handed out a game-high 16 assists.
- His 16 assists are a Michigan State NCAA Tournament record, breaking the mark of 14 set by Earvin Johnson on March 16, 1978 against Western Kentucky.
- Fears has scored in double figures in 21 of the last 22 games.
- His 16 assists marked the 15th time this season with at least 10.
- Fears has led the team in assists 34 times this year and 56 for his career.
- His 16 assists pushed his season total to 321 the most in a single season in MSU history …
Jaxon Kohler scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
- This was Kohler's 25th game in double figures this year (36 career).
- He now has 860 career points.
Trey Fort scored 12 points off the bench and grabbed five rebounds.
- He hit all three of his 3-point attempts and all three of his free throws.

Up Next
The Spartans will face the winner of No. 2 seed UConn/No. 7 seed UCLA on Friday, March 27 in the East Regional semifinal in Washington, D.C.