No. 8 Michigan State Falls Short in Regular Season Finale to Michigan

Sunday, March 8

Ann Arbor, Mich.

4:30 PM

Michigan State University

25-6,15-5Big Ten

Michigan

29-2,19-1Big Ten

Michigan St.

Michigan

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

No. 8 Michigan State Falls Short in Regular Season Finale to Michigan

3/8/2026 7:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Gamebook Michigan State at MIchigan March 8 Michigan 90, Michigan State 80

Ann Arbor, Mich. – No. 8 Michigan State had a four-point lead in the second half but No. 3 Michigan used a late run en route to a 90-80 win over the Spartans in the regular season finale for both schools on Sunday at the Crisler Center.

Senior forward Jaxon Kohler tied his career-high with 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 22 points and handed out a game-high nine assists and senior center Carson Cooper added 19 points and six rebounds.

Records
Michigan State had a five-game win streak snapped and closes the regular season with a 25-6 overall record and a 15-5 mark in the Big Ten Conference, while Michigan improves to 29-2 and 19-1 in the league.
Recap

Michigan State trailed at the half (42-41) and was down four points, 51-47, early in the second half before going on a 14-6 run over 2:40 and taking a 61-57 lead on a three-point play from Cooper with 12:59 to play in the game.
The Wolverines responded with an 11-0 run and took a 68-61 lead on free throws from Trey McKenney with 8:29 to play.
Twice the Spartans narrowed the gap to three points, first at 71-68 on free throws from Fears with 6:28 to play, and again at 73-70, on a Fears jumper with 3:47 left.
A 3-pointer from Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg made it 76-70 but Fears cut the lead to four points (76-72) with a jumper with 3:08 to play.
Michigan pushed the lead to 79-72 and then hit 11 of 12 free throws in the final 1:11 to close out the scoring.
Michigan State trailed at the half, 42-41, with Michigan scoring the final five points over the last minute to take the lead.
The Spartans jumped out to an early 7-3 lead after a pair of baskets from Cooper and a 3-pointer from Fears, but the Wolverines went on an 11-0 run to take a 14-7 lead on a layup from Roddy Gayle Jr. at 13:24.
MSU responded with a 13-4 run over 2:43 and tied the game at 27-all on a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kur Teng with 5:58 left before the break.
Michigan took a 35-29 lead with 4:09 on the block before the Spartans used a 12-2 run over 2:15, taking a 41-37 lead on a 3-pointer from Kohler with 1:47 left.

Key Stats

Michigan State committed only seven turnovers but Michigan scored 14 points off of those.
The Spartans out-scored Michigan in the paint, 40-30.
Michigan out-shot Michigan State (49.1 percent to 44.6 percent) and hit 45.5 percent of its 3-pointers (10-of-22).

Notes

Michigan State trails the all-time series with Michigan, 106-92, and the Wolverines won both meetings during the regular season.
- MSU is 34-65 all-time in Ann Arbor.
- MSU Head Coach Tom Izzo is now 36-23 all-time against Michigan.
Izzo's career record is now 762-308 in his 31st year at the helm of the MSU program, including a 376-177 record in the Big Ten.
MSU is 6-4 on the road this season.
The Spartans are 2-1 in March, 2-1 in games played on Sunday and 8-2 in day games.
- MSU trailed at the half and is 7-4 when behind after the opening 20 minutes.
The Spartans were out-shot by Michigan (49.1 percent to 44.6 percent), just the seventh time this season not shooting better than their opponent (2-5).
Michigan State scored 80 points, the 15th time scoring at least 80 points but the first time losing the game (14-1).
Michigan State was out-rebounded by Michigan, 35-32, just the third time this season being beaten on the boards (1-2).
Jaxon Kohler tied his career-high with 23 points and added eight rebounds and three assists.
- He tied his previous career-best of 23 points, set on Feb. 15, 2025 against Illinois.
- Kohler has scored in double figures 23 times this season and 34 for his career.
- This was his third game this season with at least 20 points and the fifth of his career.
- He has led the team in scoring eight times this season and 11 for his career.
- Kohler has led MSU in rebounding 17 times this year and 38 for his career.
- Kohler tied a season-high with three assists, the fourth time this season he has handed out three.
Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 22 points and handed out a game-high nine assists.
- Fears has scored in double figures in each of the last 19 games.
- He has scored in double figures 25 times this year and 37 for his career.
- This was his eighth game this season with at least 20 points.
- Fears has led the team in assists 31 times this year and 53 for his career.
- His nine assists pushed his season total to 281 the second-most in a single season in MSU history … He moved past Mateen Cleaves (1998-99, 274) for second place and needs 11 more to break the school record of 291 set by Cassius Winston in 2018-19.
Carson Cooper scored 19 points with six rebounds and two assists.
- He has scored in double figures 18 times this year and 22 for his career.

Up Next
Michigan State is the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament next week at the United Center in Chicago and will play on Friday, March 13 in the second game of the evening session.