Michigan State's Jeremy Fears and Coen Carr frustrated with first half, say MSU 'can't flip a switch' after getting down like that
Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr address media following the loss to UConn in the Sweet 16.
No. 3 Michigan State came into Friday night's Sweet 16 matchup against No. 2 Connecticut looking for revenge after falling 76-69 in a preseason exhibition matchup in Hartford back in October. Instead, the Spartans suffered another loss to the Huskies, falling 67-63 in the regional semifinal matchup in Washington, D.C.
Following the loss, Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr spoke with media briefly about the game. The redshirt sophomore and junior, respectively, were downbeat about the result and quickly acknowledged what most fans likely thought went wrong. Yet another slow start on offense for MSU, a not uncommon trend on the season, combined with a hot start for UConn dug a hole the Spartans couldn't dig themselves out of.
"Credit to them, they came out, they hit shots early," Fears said. "We turned the ball over. We missed a couple easy baskets. Just basketball, and at some point you can't flip a switch or be down a lot and then expect to win a game. We're fighting, fighting, fighting the whole game. Maybe if we were neck and neck, we give ourselves a better chance at the end of the game."
Indeed, the Spartans trailed by as much as 19 midway through the first half. Despite that deficit, MSU led 47-46 with just 9:22 left in the second half. The Spartans even ended shooting 4-for-5 from the field at the close of the game.
