No. 5 Michigan State heads back to East Lansing on Friday night for a home date with Northern Iowa at the Breslin Center, coming in with plenty of momentum after a fast start and a statement win over No. 2 Duke.
The Spartans have opened the year with three straight victories at home, rolling past Quinnipiac 96-59, topping Toledo 91-61 and then knocking off Duke 79-73 on Tuesday in the Champions Classic at the United Center in Chicago. That Duke win was the second of three games wrapped around top-25 matchups for Michigan State.
Redshirt junior guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has been at the center of it all. The Blue Ribbon Basketball Preseason National Player of the Year and the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year put up 18 points and 11 assists against Duke, helping lead three Spartans in double figures. He also posted a double-double in the opener with 13 points and 11 assists.
Michigan State has gotten production from a few different places early on. Freshman guard Jasiah Jervis scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds in the win over Toledo, while senior center Anton Bonke added 11 points and 13 rebounds in the opener. Fears is one of three players scoring in double figures and one of nine averaging at least 6.0 points per game, and he leads the team at 14.3 points and 10.3 assists per game.
Sophomore forward Jordan Scott has also filled up the box score. He had six blocks against Duke and is averaging 9.3 points, a team-high 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.7 blocks and 1.7 steals per game.
Before the regular season began, the Spartans played three exhibition games against Division I opponents, beating Incarnate Word 89-59 at home, losing to No. 4 UConn 78-70 and falling at Marquette 86-79.
Michigan State finished the 2025-26 season with a 27-8 record and a 15-5 mark in Big Ten play, good for a tie for second place. The Spartans reached the NCAA Tournament for the 28th straight season, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the second consecutive year and the 17th time under Tom Izzo, and ended the year ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25.
Izzo is in his 32nd season leading the program, and the Spartans are trying to replace six letterwinners from last year’s team, including two starting post players in Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler. Cooper averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in 26.8 minutes per game, while Kohler earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention recognition from the league’s coaches after averaging 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds and making a team-best 58 3-pointers.
Fears’ preseason recognition came after an All-Big Ten First Team season in which he led Michigan State in scoring at 15.2 points per game and in assists at 9.4 per game. That assist average ranked first in the Big Ten and No. 1 in the country. Carr, who started all 35 games, was third on the team in scoring at 12.0 points per game, third in rebounding at 5.4 and second in minutes at 29.2.
Friday’s matchup will be only the second all-time meeting between Michigan State and Northern Iowa. The Spartans won the first one, beating the Panthers 59-52 on March 26, 2010 in the Sweet Sixteen in St. Louis, Mo., to advance to the Final Four for the second straight season.
Northern Iowa arrives at 2-1 after an 89-76 home win over Green Bay. The Panthers opened with a 106-70 victory over Cornell College on Nov. 3, then lost at Furman 98-83 on Nov. 7.
Kyle Green is in his first season as Northern Iowa’s head coach. He most recently worked as an assistant at Iowa State and was part of Northern Iowa’s success under Ben Jacobsen and Greg McDermott. He also coached at Marquette under former Tom Izzo assistant Tom Crean.
UNI returned six players, including two reserves, from last season’s 23-13 team and added five transfers, one international player and two high school players. The Panthers were picked to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference by Blue Ribbon College Basketball.
Junior guard Greyson Uelmen, a transfer from North Dakota, leads the way. He averaged 16.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season and was a second-team All-Summit League selection. This year, he tops the Panthers in scoring at 19.7 points per game, rebounding at 5.7 and assists at 4.0.
Northern Iowa is averaging 92.7 points per game and has four players in double figures. Sophomore guard Carson Vis, a Western Michigan transfer who played high school basketball in Grand Rapids, is second on the team with 17.3 points per game and has made 47.1 percent of his 3-pointers. Junior Isaiah Johnson-Arigu, who played at Iowa last season, is third at 15.3 points per game, and junior guard Tate McCubbin, an Austin Peay transfer and the Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year in 2025, is averaging 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds.
The game will air live on FS1, with Chris Vosters and Miles Simon on the call. The Spartan Media Network broadcast will be available statewide and online at MSUSpartans.com, with Will Tieman on play-by-play, Kevin Pauga as color analyst and Zach Surdenik as studio host. It can also be heard on SiriusXM channel 83 and on the SiriusXM app.
In Other News...
Mel Tucker Is Trying To Change The Vibe Around Spartan Football
With Washington coming to town, Michigan State has spent the lead-up trying to make sure the atmosphere matches the opponent. Mel Tucker and athletic director Dan Bartholomae have been out in the student community, making the rounds at local bars, speaking directly to students and pushing them to show up and bring some life back to Spartan football. The pitch has gone beyond words, too, with tickets and concession vouchers handed out as part of the effort.
It is the kind of outreach that says the program understands the game-day vibe has become part of the story around this team. Michigan State is trying to tighten the bond between the football program and the Spartan community, and the timing matters with a marquee nonconference game on deck. Whether all of that translates into a fuller student section and a louder stadium will be one of the more interesting things to watch once kickoff arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Roberts Could Change Everything For MSU Against Washington
Michigan States injury report is starting to look a little more encouraging heading into Washington, and the biggest name on it is defensive lineman Ben Roberts. After being sidelined by injury, Roberts has been upgraded to questionable for the matchup, a sign the Spartans may be getting closer to full strength at a spot where depth can matter in a hurry. Cornerbacks Charles Brantley and Tre Bell, along with backup quarterback Cam Fancher, are also in the questionable mix, leaving plenty of uncertainty as the Spartans prepare for a game that could hinge on availability as much as scheme.
Washington has its own injury question to sort through with star quarterback Demond Williams Jr. also listed as questionable, adding another layer to a game already shaped by health concerns on both sides. Michigan State coach Pat Fitzgerald has said he is hopeful some of the injured players can work their way back later this season, which makes this week feel like more than just a single-game update. For a team trying to stabilize itself, getting Roberts back on the field could be a meaningful step if he is able to go. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Women Just Showed How Dangerous This Deep Roster Can Be
Michigan States women kept rolling with a 91-50 win over Oakland, and the most encouraging part for the Spartans was how many different players shaped the game. Theryn Hallock set the tone with a strong all-around showing, while freshmen Manique Bobongie and Lily Williams made their presence felt on both ends of the floor. It was the kind of performance that reminded everyone this roster has more than one way to take control of a game.
Kennedy Blair added another layer to that depth with aggressive defense, rebounding and playmaking as Michigan State stayed comfortably ahead throughout. For a team trying to build momentum, wins like this matter not just because of the margin, but because they show how quickly the rotation can produce impact from top to bottom. The Spartans looked deep, active and difficult to match, which is exactly the sort of problem opponents will have to solve going forward. [Read more 🡒]