EAST LANSING — Despite all the things Jeremy Fears Jr. missed in a shortened first freshman season, getting the taste of playing in big-time nonconference games with Michigan State basketball was one experience he did receive.
So when he faces Kentucky on Tuesday, Nov. 18, the point guard will complete his three-foe Champions Classic cycle. The next step for Fears, though, is winning one of the marquee matchups. At Madison Square Garden, no less.
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“Most people couldn’t do what he’s done. And I don’t have time to give him credit for it, either,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said after practice Sunday. “But every once in a while, I say, ‘You feel better going in there now, don’t you?’ And even he doesn’t realize it, and that’s normal.
“I know this – he’s not afraid of the moment. He’s my one guy that is not.”
Michigan State’s coach Tom Izzo, right, talks with Jeremy Fears Jr. during the first half against Colgate on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
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The No. 18 Spartans (3-0) face the No. 13 Wildcats (3-1) Tuesday (6:30 p.m., ESPN) in the first of two games at the Champions Classic, followed by No. 4 Duke vs. No. 23 Kansas (ESPN).
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It will be the third time Fears, a redshirt sophomore, will play in the event.
“I spent this summer in New York, so I was able to go to a game (at MSG) when the Knicks played the Pacers. It was a pretty cool environment,” Fears said Sunday. “But I’m ready to go out there, ready to go compete, ready to go play another big-time game and find out more about our team.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound captain played just seven minutes and finished with two points, one assist and two turnovers in the Spartans’ 74-65 loss to the Blue Devils in 2023 at United Center in Chicago. The native of Joliet, Illinois, played in MSU’s first 10 games but was shot in the leg in his hometown on Dec. 23 that year and missed the rest of the season. The NCAA granted him a medical waiver and a redshirt season.
Then, last year at State Farm Center in Atlanta, Fears played 27 minutes and scored nine points with six assists, three rebounds, two steals and two turnovers in his third game back after being shot. MSU lost to the then-No. 1 Jayhawks, 77-69.
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Last year’s loss, though, built the Spartans’ resolve and showed their cohesion. MSU went on to finish 30-7, winning the Big Ten regular-season title by three games and advancing to the Elite Eight. Fears started all but one game (and that he missed because he was sick).
Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., right, passes to Trey Fort during the first half in the game against San Jose State at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025.
Early this season, Fears continues to show his growth and development. He had 14 points and 10 assists with five steals and five rebounds in the opener against Colgate. Against then-No. 15 Arkansas, Fears scored just four points and missed all seven of his shots but handed out nine assists and directed the Spartans to a 69-66 victory. Then in Thursday’s 79-60 win over San Jose State, Fears made his first three 3-pointers of the season to help stave off a second-half collapse and finished with 15 points, nine assists and five rebounds.
“I mean, he’s still not 100% back that he trusts himself and he trusts his leg. But so much better, so much better,” Izzo said. “He doesn’t get as frustrated. And he’s been really good, and I think he’s running the team. I think he’s playing with a confidence. I think he’s feeling better and better about his shot, which I think is giving him more freedom to do more things.
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“So that’s been a big plus. Because when the head goes, the body goes; when the head dies, the body dies. So I think Jeremy has maybe improved as much as anybody right now.”
And along with his play, Fears brings the type of confront-and-demand leadership that Izzo relishes and demands from his point guards. Sometimes that means challenging his players, sometimes that means pushing back against his coach. But it’s ultimately why Fears draws so many comparisons to one of Izzo’s best, Mateen Cleaves, who won three straight Big Ten titles, made two straight Final Fours and helped Izzo win the 2000 national championship.
Those are all goals Fears wants to reach, and Izzo wants to push him and his teammates toward while leading and challenging one another.
“I think for me, it’s kind of easy to confront and demand some of my teammates, some of the guys,” Fears said. “It’s knowing how it should work being here for three years, knowing what it should look like – the goods, the bads. And kind of knowing in the game what probably could and might happen.
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“I think I can do it. But at the same time, I gotta make sure that I’m the steady one, making sure that I’m still leading and picking up and helping even when they mess up and when something goes wrong.”
Prediction
With Fears again fueling the emotion, the Spartans rely on their defense against the Wildcats, who lost to in-state rival No. 6 Louisville last week. Kentucky is markedly deeper than MSU, with nine players averaging seven points or more and four scoring in double figures. It will be up to Fears, Jordan Scott and Coen Carr to use their length and athleticism on the perimeter to bother the Wildcats’ perimeter players, and for Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper to assert themselves in the paint to escape New York with a 4-0 record. The pick: MSU 72, Kentucky 70.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State faces Kentucky in Champions Classic
