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East Lansing — Nonconference play is over. Now, the Michigan State men’s basketball team enters the meat of Big Ten play.
Right off the bat, the 18th-ranked Spartans face a tough challenge against Ohio State on the road. So does point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. The Buckeyes’ own star point guard, Bruce Thornton, is one of Division I’s best. As Michigan State and Fears both resume conference play, there is no easy transition. There is no warm-up. This matchup demands their best.
“They’ve got a great, great, great guard,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “That’s what concerns me, because he hurt us last year. He’s dynamite. We match up good, and yet I think that’ll be the challenge for us. Can we keep the guards out of the paint and stop their 3-point shooting?”
Last year was actually one of the few times the Spartans contained Thornton himself, who had 11 points and three assists in a Feb. 25 Ohio State win at Breslin Center. In two prior meetings in March 2023, Thornton dropped back-to-back 20 point nights. The problem is Ohio State has enough depth to make do when a star gets locked down. This season, Thornton is only taking 10 shots per game and averaging 17.4 points and 4.8 assists.
“He kind of reminds me of Cassius (Winston),” Izzo said. “Different body type, but he doesn’t have to take a lot of shots to get a lot done.”
This year’s Buckeyes are also a bit of an enigma. The team blew out a top-five Kentucky team by 20 points, but lost to No. 2 Auburn by 38. It also lost to unranked Maryland by 24.
Ohio State averages 82.8 points and 35.5 rebounds per game. Michigan State sits at 82 points and 42 rebounds per game. It’s a fairly even matchup on paper. While this is a challenging opponent for Michigan State, it’s also a beatable one.
“Their guards are scoring guards, so we’ve just got to check,” guard Tre Holloman said. “We’ve just got to stay true to Michigan State basketball.”
More: Turnover control paramount as Spartans enter Big Ten play
In Friday’s game, it will be Fears who determines how true to their identity the Spartans play. If he can limit Thornton’s scoring, then Michigan State has a chance to restart the Big Ten slate with a big win.
“Thornton will be a good matchup for him, because Jeremy’s not as big, doesn’t weigh as much, but he does have the strength to guard him,” Izzo said. “And I think he’ll be excited about it. He likes challenges.”
But defense isn’t the only way that Fears has to beat Thornton. He also has to score himself. In recent weeks, the sophomore has shown less hesitancy to call his own number, and his shot has improved since the season began. Yet there’s still some room to grow. Some of that is physical growth as he continues to come back from the shooting that ended his freshman season early and forced him on a long recovery that isn’t quite over.
“I still don’t think he has the same swagger,” Izzo said. “Like today, he was dunking for the first time in a month. Now that means nothing to anybody, except it tells me that he’s either got his legs back or he’s getting stronger. Because when he penetrates and shoots, he’s not getting the lift he used to get.”
Again, with time Fears is improving. Last game against Western Michigan, for example, Fears controlled his matchup against point guard Chansey Willis Jr., a high volume shooter who only got off nine shots in the game. Only a dozen points marked another season low for Willis.
But even if Fears locked up his man, his own offense was limited to three points and six assists. There’s more to squeeze out of his own game, something that could help Michigan State in a tough matchup against Ohio State.
“I thought the last five minutes of that (Western Michigan) game, he pushed the ball and locked up better than he has all year,” Izzo said. “And we showed him on film. I think he can get some baskets by pushing the ball better.”
Regardless of how he does it, Fears’ play can get the Spartans off to a hot start in Big Ten play. Ohio State and Thornton won’t make it easy, but that also means there’s an opportunity for Michigan State to prove its legitimacy.
No. 18 Michigan State at Ohio State
▶ Tip-off: 8 p.m. Friday, Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
▶ TV/radio: FOX/760
▶ Records: Michigan State 11-2, 2-0 Big Ten; Ohio State 9-4, 1-1
cearegood@detroitnews.com
@ConnorEaregood
