With March Madness right around the corner, Michigan State is once again shaping up to be a team nobody wants to see in their region. The Spartans are currently tracking as a 3-seed in most NCAA Tournament projections, and while that’s a solid spot, there’s still room to climb.
A few weeks ago, they were flirting with a 2-seed before back-to-back losses knocked them down a couple lines. But after a gutsy overtime win against Illinois, they’re back on the upswing - and right in the thick of the race to improve their seeding down the stretch.
If Michigan State is going to make a serious push toward that 2-line - or beyond - they’ll need to keep stacking wins against quality opponents. And they’ve got the firepower to do it, thanks in large part to the guy running the show: Jeremy Fears.
Fears has been turning heads all season, and now he’s officially in the national spotlight. The sophomore point guard was just named to the Wooden Award Late Midseason Watchlist, a nod to the top 20 players in college basketball.
That’s not just a Big Ten honor roll - that’s a who’s who of the national player of the year conversation. And Fears is right there in the mix.
He’s one of only five Big Ten players to make the cut, joining Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg, Purdue’s Braden Smith, Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, and Illinois’ Keaton Wagler. That’s a strong group, but Fears is the engine that makes Michigan State go, and his impact has been undeniable.
Tom Izzo has never been shy about praising his point guards, and he’s drawn a pretty lofty comparison for Fears - Mateen Cleaves. That’s not just name-dropping for nostalgia’s sake. The parallels are real.
Like Cleaves, Fears is a sophomore floor general with elite vision, toughness, and a leadership presence that’s impossible to miss. He’s currently leading the Big Ten in assists - averaging 9.1 per game - which actually tops Cleaves’ sophomore mark of 7.2 during his first Big Ten Player of the Year campaign in 1997-98. That’s not just impressive - that’s historic territory.
If Fears keeps this up, he could become the third Michigan State sophomore under Izzo to win Big Ten Player of the Year, joining Kalin Lucas (2008-09) and Cleaves himself. The last Spartan to bring home the honor was Cassius Winston in 2018-19, and Fears is putting up the kind of numbers and performances that stack up with any of them.
He’s not just dishing out assists - he’s controlling tempo, setting the tone defensively, and making the kind of winning plays that don’t always show up in the box score. That’s the stuff that separates good point guards from great ones. And right now, Fears is looking more and more like the latter.
So yes, Michigan State has work to do if they want to lock in a top seed. But with Fears at the helm and Izzo on the sideline, don’t be surprised if this team finds another gear in the coming weeks.
The Spartans are trending in the right direction - and with their leader playing at an elite level, they’re not just dangerous. They’re built for March.