No. 9 Michigan State braces for biggest road test yet at unbeaten Nebraska

EAST LANSING – Coen Carr knows the road to a repeat as Big Ten champs requires Michigan State basketball to thrive away from home.

“We gotta fight hard to steal some of these away games,” Carr said after practice Wednesday, Dec. 31.

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The ninth-ranked Spartans get their second road test – and their toughest yet – when they visit sizzing No. 13 Nebraska at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Friday (9 p.m,, Peacock/online only).

En route to Tom Izzo’s 11th regular-season championship a year ago, MSU (12-1, 2-0) went 8-2 in Big Ten road games. The Spartans won the conference title by three games for Izzo’s fifth outright title – but just the third by multiple games: MSU won it by four games in 2009 and three games in 1999.

That shows just how difficult the path to repeating can be.

“If you’ve done something before, that’s experience,” Izzo said Wednesday. “It matters more than people think.”

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Here’s a look at the challenge ahead for MSU against the Cornhuskers (13-0, 2-0), who are off to their best start in program history.

Tough spot

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Jeremy Fears Jr. learned quickly how difficult it can be at Pinnacle Bank Arena.

In his first year at MSU, the trip to Nebraska was one of the two Big Ten games the point guard played in before he missed the rest of his freshman season with a gunshot wound. But what he experienced in that 77-70 loss, in which the Huskers closed out the Spartans with a 10-3 run over the final two minutes, still sticks out to him two years later.

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“It was my first road game, and I did not play too well. I was kind of upset about it,” said Fears, who had three turnovers and two fouls in 10 scoreless minutes in that game on Dec. 10, 2023. “It was loud. They were active, the fans. … So I kind of know what to expect, how their environment is and how their place is. It’s gonna get loud, it’s gonna get rowdy when they go on a run or score then they score a couple baskets.”

While MSU held on for a 76-72 win in its December road game at Penn State on Dec. 13, the atmosphere – or lack thereof – inside Bryce Jordan Center pales in comparison to much of the Big Ten. And Nebraska has been an increasingly tough place to play for visitors in recent years, with the host Huskers 48-11 at Pinnacle the past four seasons.

“It’s a different atmosphere in most places,” Izzo said. “Most places hate the opponent and this and that. There’s so much respect there, it’s bizarre. In football, it was that way; in basketball, it was that way. I’m sure they’ll get on you for something, but they are fans of Nebraska. And I have a lot of respect for their fans.”

MSU is 5-2 at Pinnacle Bank Arena and 24-10 all-time against the Huskers, as well as 16-4 in Big Ten play. However, this is the first time the Spartans will face a ranked Nebraska team on the road and the first ranked-vs.-ranked game ever at Pinnacle Bank Arena, which opened in 2013 and is sold out for the game.

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“They have grown some, but that place was sold out when they weren’t very good,” Izzo said. “I think it’s a great basketball arena. … I wish we didn’t have to play there this year.”

Health update

Izzo said Carr and senior center Carson Cooper have been on the mend from an illness that affected them during MSU’s wild 114-97 win over Cornell on Monday.

However, that bug continues to linger around the team. Sophomore shooting guard Divine Ugochukwu is now battling it, and Cooper has been dealing with it for a while, Izzo said. Ugochukwu sat out practice Wednesday, Izzo said, after feeling ill a day earlier.

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“I hope it’s quick,” Izzo said. “With Coop, it lasted five days. Divine, I don’t know. Coen, it was quicker, his was a 24-hour (situation).”

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Ugochukwu has started MSU’s last four games, with a career-high 23 points in the win at Penn State. After scoring just two points combined in the Spartans’ wins over Toledo and Oakland, the Miami (Florida) transfer went 5-for-8, including two 3-pointers, for 12 points with three assists and two rebounds against Cornell.

Should Ugochukwu have to sit Friday, Izzo said his confidence is growing with Kur Teng, Trey Fort and Jordan Scott at shooting guard.

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“Since Trey’s come back (from Christmas), he’s been a lot different player,” Izzo said. “One of those three, we’re gonna get something out of. Hopefully all three of them. I’ve seen Kur step up on the offensive end, now I need him to step up on the defensive end.”

Nebraska update

Sixth-year coach Fred Hoiberg, whose son Jack played for Izzo and was part of three straight MSU Big Ten title teams from 2018-20, has the Cornhuskers off to their best start ever. After Tuesday’s 86-55 home win over New Hampshire, they are perfect heading into the new year for the first time since 1928-29.

Nebraska ranks fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.98) and is beating teams by 17.3 points a game. While the Huskers are scoring 83.5 points a game, Izzo has been more impressed with the 66.2 allowed by their defense that ranks tied for 38th-best in Division I.

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“Fred likes his team, and he’s got a good team. … And I think Fred was always one of the best offensive coaches in the country, if you ask me. But I think he’s really adapted that defensively right now,” Izzo said. “They’re a lot better than I think they used to be.”

Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort, a 6-7 junior forward, averages 16.5 points and had 32 points against Illinois and 20 against Northwestern in the Huskers’ first two Big Ten games. Senior Rienk Mast, a 6-10 forward, also scored 16.5 points with a team-leading 6.8 rebounds.

Hoiberg’s son Sam, a 6-foot senior point guard, controls the pace and stuffs the stat sheet with 8.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3-8 assists and 1.8 steals. He is third nationally with a 5.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and third in the Big Ten in steals. Redshirt freshman Braden Frager, a 6-7 forward, comes off the bench and averages 11.6 points.

MSU won the lone meeting last season, 89-52, at Breslin Center on Dec. 7, 2024.

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Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball: Biggest road test yet at unbeaten Nebraska