What Makes Michigan State so 'Dangerous': Inside the locker room with Jaxon Kohler

Tied at 53-53 in the second half with over 11 minutes left to play, Indiana was standing strong against Michigan State, but in just over two minutes, the Spartans took control, going on a 12-0 run and taking a double-digit lead, which they never relinquished. The run included a routine massive dunk from forward Coen Carr that got the Breslin Center crowd on its feet, followed by a 3-pointer by freshman wing Jordan Scott and a layup from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., both of whom broke their career-high in points. 

Eventually, MSU went on to defeat IU by a final score of 81-60. The Spartans currently sit at 15-2 overall and 5-1 in Big Ten play.

At this point in the season last year (2024-2025), Michigan State's record may have looked similar, but the fashion in which the Spartans are collecting these wins in 2025-2026 is vastly different. Senior forward Jaxon Kohler spoke about Michigan State basketball's system that makes this team so dangerous. 

According to Kohler, it begins with Fears.

“That's what makes our team so dangerous,” Kohler said after the win over the Hoosiers. “Because it starts with him (Fears), and when we get our fast break going, he is dangerous when he pushes, because, as you saw (Tuesday night), he was just scoring, and he knows when teams are thinking, ‘He's gonna be a pass-first guy, or he's gonna be a score guy,’ and he adjusts to whatever they do."

Kohler points to Fears as the head of the team. Fears had a double-double against Indiana, while scoring his career-high in points with 23, and collecting 10 assists. As SU head coach Tom Izzo says, “When the head's good, the body is good,” and this matchup was a testament to the way guys follow Fear’s leadership. 

“Then you have guys like (Carson) Cooper, an alley-oop threat or first post, and then you have shooters on the wing,” Kohler said. “You have Coen (Carr) ready for the dunks. You have me at the trail, and when we have that groove, that just makes our team so exciting and hard to beat.”

Kohler has been a crucial part of Michigan State's success this season as well. He recorded a double-double of his own against the Hoosiers, with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The pieces Kohler explained are not isolated, but instead connect in a way that makes the Spartans a difficult team to scout and even harder to prevent momentum shifts. Players are contributing all over the court, specifically Kohler with his consistent double-doubles from points and rebounds, as well as Fear's leadership and skill set, and Carr’s hunger on defense and ability to bring energy. 

“The staples of our program are playing defense, rebound and run,” Kohler said.  “Obviously, defense plays a huge part in that, but it was the way that we really locked into the small details.”