NEW YORK — Though it took a back seat to an impressive 3-point shooting performance, Michigan State basketball‘s generosity with the ball led to many of those buckets that knocked out No. 13 Kentucky.
A career-high 13 assists for Jeremy Fears Jr. Another robust night of team distribution around him. An impressive statement-making 83-66 win over the Wildcats for the 18th-ranked Spartans on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at Madison Square Garden.
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And a heap of praise and pride – amid his usual downplaying – from coach Tom Izzo about the way MSU went about moving the ball.
“Where it’s getting a little bit like last year, it’s very unselfish,” Izzo said after the Spartans had 25 assists on their 32 made shots. “I still think we’ve got some more upside.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 18: Jeremy Fears Jr. #1 of the Michigan State Spartans dribbles during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats in the 2025 State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 18, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)
In opening the season with four straight wins, the Spartans have assisted on 86 of their 110 made baskets, a bountiful 78.2% sharing rate. They’ll take that up against a former MSU point guard and Izzo assistant in Mark Montgomery and Detroit Mercy on Friday (6:30 p.m., Big Ten Network) in East Lansing.
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“It showed that we’re a really complete team,” said freshman Cam Ward, who had eight points and benefitted from two of Fears’ assists (including a lob dunk in the second half). “And we’re a deep team, too.”
Fears, a 6-foot-2 redshirt sophomore, leads the nation with 41 assists and 10.3-per-game rate, while MSU ranks ninth as a team so far, at 21.5 assists per game. He finished with eight points, six rebounds and three steals.
“Jeremy after that first five minutes – let me tell you, he wasn’t very good the first five minutes. He knows it, and I know it,” Izzo said of Fears. “When I can call him into a locker room and he starts saying, ‘That was my fault,’ then I know I’ve made some progress. If you can self-evaluate, that’s pretty good. The great ones I had, especially [Mateen] Cleaves, could self-evaluate.”
More: Spartan Speak podcast | MSU basketball serves notice, football served by the NCAA
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The Spartans might be turning the ball over 11.5 times a game, including 13 against the Wildcats, but their ability to push the pace and deliver in the halfcourt makes up for the giveaways. And Fears said he was “grateful” for his teammates scoring off his passes, whether in transition or around the basket.
“They made shots and they were helpful for us tonight,” he said. “Just the fact that I trust every player on this team to either make the shot, make the dunk or make the layup.”
When Kentucky cut it to a 10-point game late, it was more than just Fears delivering. Kur Teng, who scored a career-high 15 points, set up roommate Jesse McCulloch with a critical 3-pointer to spark a 20-6 knockout run. Teng was one of five other Spartans with two assists.
“It was a good team win,” said senior Jaxon Kohler, who had 20 pints and five rebounds with two assists.
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After MSU built a 17-point halftime lead, the Wildcats tried to play bully ball and get tough to start the second half. But the Spartans responded cooly and calmly to reassert themselves.
Nov 18, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Brandon Garrison (10) and Michigan State Spartans forward Cameron Ward (3) battle for a rebound during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
“It did get physical. They wanted to kind of mess the game up, show their physicality late,” Ward said. “But by then, they were already in the water dead by that time.”
Friday will be Montgomery’s second trip to Breslin Center as a head coach, with Izzo beating his Northern Illinois team in 2018, 88-60, in their only meeting against each other. Montgomery played for Jud Heathcote, with Izzo an as assistant, at MSU from 1988-92 and served on Izzo’s staff as an assistant twice (2002-11, 2021-24).
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The Titans are 1-4 in Montgomery’s second season after going 8-24 a year ago. Izzo is 2-3 all-time against UDM, including a 83-76 win at Breslin on Dec. 4, 2020. The Titans beat Izzo three times in his first three years by a combined six points before he finally beat them, 80-70, on Nov. 12, 2001, followed by a 19-year layoff in the series.
Prediction
Izzo works a number of different lineup combinations to get players reps with each other, but the ability to share the ball and the Spartans’ defensive pressure continue at an elite level to spoil Montgomery’s homecoming. The pick: MSU 84, Detroit 66.
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 basketball sharing at an elite level
