Michigan State basketball is 2-0 to begin the 2025-26 season, and the Spartans have gone from No. 22 in the country up to No. 17 in the opening week thanks to a big win over Arkansas on Saturday.
The Spartans built a comfortable lead over Arkansas in the closing minutes, but the Razorbacks made things interesting before the Spartans ultimately shut the door. A last-second heave by towel-wielding Trevon Brazile fell way short, and Michigan State improved to 2-0.
The win wasn’t a huge surprise, but there were experts out there picking the Razorbacks to upend the Spartans on their home floor. Tom Izzo’s November home record should have been an indication of what to expect, and he now improves to 84-1 at the Breslin Center in the opening month of the season.
We have seen some pleasant surprises through the first week of action, and here are my top three.
1. Dominance on the glass
I should’ve expected Michigan State to be a plus rebounding team with Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper, and Coen Carr all returning, but I didn’t think it would be quite this dominant.
The Spartans out-rebounded Colgate 47-25 in the opener and then out-worked Arkansas on the glass in Game 2, 45-33. It felt like Arkansas had the bigs and athleticism to make the rebounding battle close, but Michigan State was just too much for the Razorbacks to handle.
Through two games, Michigan State holds a +34 rebounding advantage, averaging +17 per game. I don’t know if anyone expected this type of dominance.
2. The freshmen
Jordan Scott and Cam Ward were lauded as “better than I thought” by Tom Izzo in the preseason, but it was filed under “we’ll have to see it to believe it” by Spartan fans. We’ve heard about freshmen being better than advertised before without it coming to fruition, but this is clearly different.
Scott has been one of those do-everything players that seems to fit in perfectly in East Lansing. He came to Michigan State as a small forward, but played a ton of two-guard against Arkansas, and finished with six points and seven rebounds. He just made all the right plays (outside of two big missed free throws at the end). It feels like Scott could be an Aaron Henry-type of player — Izzo compares him to Max Christie.
Ward dominated against Arkansas after a quiet opener against Colgate. He finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and looked like a man among boys. It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a player finish at the rim with such ferocity, but Ward is special.
These two guys are going to be fan favorites, and apparently major contributors this year.
3. The need for Jeremy Fears Jr. on the floor
Not all surprises have to be positive. One thing that I’ve been more surprised about than I expected to be was Michigan State’s absolute need for Jeremy Fears Jr. on the floor.
When Fears is on the court, Michigan State looks like one of the best teams in the country on both ends (minus some 3-points shooting). When he’s on the bench, the team looks disjointed as Divine Ugochukwu is still trying to assimilate to his new team.
It feels like Michigan State needs Fears to play 35-40 minutes per game if it wants to have a chance at repeating as the Big Ten champ. That’s surprising.