No. 22 Michigan State men's basketball defeats Colgate in season opener, 80-69

The No. 22-ranked Michigan State men’s basketball team tipped off its 2025-2026 season on Monday night against the Colgate Raiders. The Spartans came away with a 80-69 victory in the season-opener by a final score of 80-69.

While the Spartans were clearly the better team in this contest, the score was often too close for comfort. Poor shooting from 3-point range and from the free-throw line, and defensive miscommunications allowed the Raiders to stay in it, despite the Spartans dominating the glass and protecting the ball.

The Spartans were led by forward Jaxon Kohler, who finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. also had a double-double as he finished with 14 points, 10 assists, and five steals. Also in double figures for the Spartans were forward Coen Carr (12 points) and center Carson Cooper (10 points)

Freshman forward Jordan Scott impressed with six points and six rebounds, while fellow freshman forward Cam Ward had five points and fourrebounds (all offensive.) Transfer guard Trey Fort added nine points off of two triples and a perfect 3-for-3 trip from the free-throw line.

In total, the Spartans shot 41.7% from the field (25-for-60) and just 28.6% from 3-point distance (6-for-21). MSU also shot just 65% from the free-throw line (24-for-37).

MSU dominated Colgate on the glass, out-rebounding the Raiders 47 to 25, including 19 offensive rebounds. This led to the Spartans having 20 second-chance points versus Colgate's three. Despite sub-par shooting, the Spartans were able to control the game and take advantage of their size and athleticism.

First Half

Coming into the season, outside shooting was perhaps the biggest question mark for the Spartans. This didn’t seem to deter Michigan State from letting them fly as guard Kur Teng and Kohler each hit a triple early, giving the Spartans an 8-3 lead. 

Early in the first half, Colgate transitioned to a zone defense, which caused the Spartans to go four minutes without a bucket. It’s clear that Fears is the straw that stirs the drink for this team. Fears led all Spartan scorers in the first  half with eight points, while also having six assists. Fears also scored the first basket of the season for MSU on Monday night.

During the first half, while back-up point guard Divine Ugochukwu was in the game, the Spartans were outscored by six points. MSU will likely need to rely on Fears for heavy minutes in order to keep the offense humming. 

Second-chance points (10 for the Spartans) and free throws (7-for-10) were the difference for the Spartans in the first half, despite Colgate shooting 43% from the field compared to 31% for the Spartans.

For at least the opener, Izzo opted for a 10-man rotation, going to freshmen Cam Ward and Jordan Scott early and often. Both freshmen appeared cool and confident. If that continues, it will be a very encouraging sign for the Spartans' depth. 

Coming out of the under-12-minute media timeout of the first half, the Spartans found a groove, thanks to fast-break points from Fears and Carr, and the second triple from Teng, which gave the Spartans the 19-13 lead. 

Michigan State was able to impose its will and use size to its advantage on the smaller Colgate team, grabbing seven offensive rebounds to the Raiders' one. This allowed the Spartans to maintain a lead despite the poor shooting. Ward led the Spartans with three offensive rebounds in the first half, and Cooper added two. 

While the Spartans were fairly solid defensively, they allowed too many open looks from 3-point range, as the Raiders shot 6-for-14 from deep, including one at the buzzer to cut the Spartans lead to 37-34 heading into the half.

Second Half

Two early jumpers from Colgate’s Ben Tweedy and Brady Cummins tied the game at 39-39, three minutes into the second half. Both teams would trade buckets for the next couple of minutes and the Spartans led 47-45 with 13 minutes to play. 

Fort got active, as he hit a triple and was fouled on another attempt on back-to-back possessions. This is where the Spartans changed the game in a hurry, going on a 15-2 run, and ballooning their lead to 15 points. 

The aforementioned run was highlighted by Carr. The junior forward followed an and-one dunk with another alley-oop off the backboard, courtesy of Fears. 

However, a triple and layup from Colgate forward Sam Wright would bring the Spartans' lead down to 10 points. Wright followed his personal 5-0 run with an assist to Jalen Cox, shrinking the lead to just seven points. Michigan State settled down, however, and did not allow its lead to get below seven points the rest of the way.  

With the Spartans leading 72-57 with 3:50 to play, Raider forward Andrew Alekseyenko drew a foul from Carr on a layup attempt. After the play, Alekseyenko was called for a technical foul. He wasn’t the only one animated on the play, though, as Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo was also called for a technical foul, arguing that Alekseyenko should have been called for a travel prior to his shot attempt. Izzo was fired up and had to be held back by his coaching staff before things escalated further.

Thanks to improved shooting from the field and continued dominance on the glass, the Spartans were able to hold off the pesky Raiders and start the season in the win column. 

Michigan State will be back in action Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, as the Spartans host the No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks back in East Lansing.