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Michigan State basketball: 3 takeaways from Thanksgiving Day loss to Arizona

By Connor Muldowney

Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) controls the ball as Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) looks on during the Acrisure Classic in Palm Desert, Calif., on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, 2023.
Michigan State Spartans guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) controls the ball as Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) looks on during the Acrisure Classic in Palm Desert, Calif., on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, 2023. /
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Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Michigan State basketball fell just short of a win over a top-five team in non-conference play. The Spartans stormed back from down 15 points in the first half to take a three-point lead late in the game only to squander it and lose to No. 3 Arizona.

The Wildcats mounted an early comfortable lead and forced the Spartans to fight their way back into the game which they did in the second half only to fall short.

Michigan State is now 3-3 on the season with three losses to three teams currently ranked.

What’d we learn from the Arizona defeat?

3. Two freshmen gained some confidence

Early in the game, it felt like every single Spartan was overmatched. The Wildcats were suffocating the Spartans and playing the freshmen seemed like a bad move because not even the veterans could do anything.

But Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears provided a breath of fresh air and they weren’t intimidated.

We didn’t see any Xavier Booker, which was surprising, but Carr was a beast on the defensive end with three steals and a huge block and he added seven points on the other end, hitting two clutch free throws in the second half. Fears had four points and three assists in 16 minutes and he didn’t turn the ball over. He also made both of his shot attempts.

This was a huge performance for those two even though the numbers were nothing crazy.

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