Michigan State’s season opener had the look of a team already comfortable in its own skin, and the backcourt set the tone.
The Spartans rolled past Quinnipiac on Monday behind a sharp night from point guards Jeremy Fears and Jordan Medlock, winning with the kind of physical edge Tom Izzo has long prized. MSU finished with a 46-27 rebounding advantage, piled up 50 points in the paint, scored 36 in transition and knocked down nine 3-pointers while shooting 39%.
Medlock, the only Michigander on the roster seeing consistent minutes, looked right at home in Breslin Center. The 5-foot-11 guard from Wayne Memorial High School - where he led his team to the 2025 Michigan High School Athletic Association state final at Breslin Center - has been on Izzo’s radar for a long time.
On Monday, he played with confidence and looseness while showing a much improved defensive presence from the Spartans’ three exhibitions. He finished 4-for-5 from the floor and hit a crucial 3 in the first half, though he went 0-for-4 at the free-throw line.
Izzo, who knows a thing or two about elite point guard play, compared Medlock’s scoring ability to Spartan great Kalin Lucas after the game.
“It was fun to see him really compete, get after it,” Izzo said. “I was really happy for him too. It's fun to see guys come in, spend time watching film, understand what maybe they didn't do right and change.”
For Medlock, the situation is less pressure than opportunity. He arrived from Link Academy, where he played alongside fellow freshman Ethan Taylor, and now he’s learning behind one of the country’s best point guards.
“People probably say that it’s a lot of pressure on me, but I see it as a great opportunity,” Medlock said. “You get to play behind one of the best point guards in college basketball.”
Fears, the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year and a consensus All-American, was every bit the engine again. He finished with 13 points and 11 assists on 5-for-8 shooting, and his fingerprints were all over Michigan State’s transition game. Last season, his 9.4 assists per game led the nation, and he picked up right where he left off by finding passing lanes in the open floor.
The Spartans’ depth was on display, too. Four players scored in double figures, and eight logged at least 15 minutes. Fears played 26 minutes after averaging 32 per game a year ago, while Medlock was on the floor for 17.
Medlock’s best stretch came in a burst that changed the energy in the building. In a span of about a minute and a half in the first half, he helped spark four straight offensive possessions.
He scored his first basket after a turnover, then used a slick dribble on the left wing to bury a deep 3 that got Breslin Center buzzing. On the next trip, he finished a fast-break dunk and then set up sophomore forward Cam Ward for an alley-oop.
Fears said the freshman’s night mattered beyond the box score.
“I think that was big for his confidence,” Fears said. “But the end goal is for him to be confident, trust yourself, trust your work and be real solid and sturdy, especially early on as a freshman.”
He also called Medlock’s performance “impressive.”
The two guards are already sharing the load in practice, and Fears said Medlock will hear it if he’s not doing things the right way.
Still, Medlock said he wants to be more than just a backup voice.
“I can be another leader, because there's gonna be times when Jeremy needs it,” Medlock said. “It's like always being that leader for other guys and not having only him leading in practice and in games.”
Even with the win, Fears was hard on himself. He shot 62% from the field and posted a double-double, but he still didn’t like what he saw.
“I didn’t think it was a great game from me.”
He said the next step is sharper ball security and better control in the half-court. Fears had three turnovers Monday and averaged 2.4 per game last season.
“I almost want to be perfect, which is hard to do,” Fears said. “At the same time, that’s a challenge that I want to take on.”
Michigan State’s next chance comes Thursday, Nov. 5, when it hosts Toledo at 8 p.m. at Breslin Center. Izzo said the formula remains the same as ever.
“Things haven't changed in 30 years,” Izzo said. “If you guard better, you usually rebound better.
If you rebound better, you usually run better. If you defend, rebound and run, you have some success.”
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Michigan State's Opener Revealed A New Look That Could Matter Fast
Tom Izzo wasted little time tinkering with Michigan States opening-night look, and the changes were hard to miss against Quinnipiac. Coen Carr slid into the power forward spot, Jasiah Jervis got the start at shooting guard, and transfer Anton Bonke was in the first five as well, giving the Spartans a different blend than they showed in the exhibition games. It was the kind of early-season adjustment Izzo often makes when he thinks a lineup can be sharpened quickly, and this one had immediate consequences on both ends of the floor.
Carr responded with a lively all-around effort, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, a block and a steal in 25 minutes, while Bonke made his presence felt inside with 13 rebounds and 11 points in 19 minutes. For Michigan State, the bigger question now is whether this was simply an opener experiment or the start of a more permanent reshuffling, because the Spartans already have evidence that the new alignment can change the teams balance in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan States Opener Raised An Early Rotation Debate Fans Will Notice
Michigan State opened its season with a look that immediately gave fans something to track beyond the final score. Jesse McCulloch was unavailable because of a head injury, but he was still on the bench, and Tom Izzo answered by rolling out a small-ball starting group of Jeremy Fears, Jasiah Jervis, Jordan Scott, Coen Carr and Anton Bonke. It was a lineup built for speed and versatility, and it signaled that the Spartans are willing to mix things up early as they sort through the frontcourt.
The first half offered a glimpse of why the approach was worth watching, with Fears and Medlock providing key scoring support while Bonke made his presence felt on the glass. Even without McCulloch on the floor, Michigan State found enough balance to take a halftime lead, which only sharpens the conversation about how Izzo wants to use his pieces once the roster is whole again. For a team with real depth questions to answer, the opener already hinted at a rotation debate that could linger. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Just Showed Why Izzo Has A New Early Decision
Michigan State opened the regular season in the kind of lopsided fashion that usually tells you a lot about a team before the schedule gets any harder, rolling past Quinnipiac 96-59 at the Breslin Center. The Spartans looked deep from the start, with Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr and freshman Carlos Medlock all turning in strong showings as Tom Izzos group controlled the game in transition, on the glass and around the basket.
The broader takeaway was less about the final margin than the way Michigan State piled up advantages in the areas that tend to travel once Big Ten play arrives. Fastbreak points, rebounding and post scoring all tilted heavily in the Spartans favor, giving Izzo an early look at a roster that already appears to have multiple ways to beat teams. For a program trying to establish its identity right away, this was the kind of opener that can shape the conversation quickly. [Read more 🡒]