If you were a casual fan, you would have never known that Michigan State basketball was a 5.5-point underdog against No. 12 Kentucky on Tuesday night.
The Spartans dominated from the opening tip to the final buzzer, beating the Wildcats 83-66 in the Champions Classic. This win improves Michigan State’s record in the prestigious event to 6-9, tied with Kentucky and behind both Duke and Kansas who are both 9-6.
Michigan State is now 4-0 on the season with two top-15 wins, and the team that everyone counted out of the Big Ten title race this offseason after losing Jase Richardson, Jaden Akins, Tre Holloman, Xavier Booker, Szymon Zapala, Frankie Fidler, and Gehrig Normand, is already proving everyone wrong.
Let’s grade last night’s massive win.
Jeremy Fears Jr. — A
This team isn’t able to do what it has been doing without Jeremy Fears Jr. Tom Izzo said that he could become the next Mateen at Michigan State, and he sure looked like it on Tuesday night. He finished with just eight points, but he didn’t need to score when he was finding all of his teammates for open shots by reading the defense to perfection. He had a whopping 13 assists to just two turnovers. The nation’s assist leader just added to his total.
Coen Carr — B
Obviously not Coen Carr’s best game, but he still did all the little things to help lead Michigan State to a win. He doesn’t need to drop 20 points a night to have an impact, and his six points were all that were needed to account for a 17-point win. He did hit a three, which was nice to see, and he had six rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block. He just does it all.
Jaxon Kohler — A
I contemplated giving Jaxon Kohler an A+ here, but I truly think he can earn that at some point this season, so I don’t want to blow it too early. Kohler was fantastic on Tuesday, grabbing boards, hitting close-range shots, and draining threes. He led the team with 20 points and while his five rebounds were a step back from what he’s usually good for, he made up for it with just an all-around great performance.
Trey Fort — B+
Trey Fort has life, folks. We were waiting for the Samford transfer to really step into his new role and adjust to the life of the Big Ten, and it looks like he did that against Kentucky. He had 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting and he hit three 3-pointers in 18 minutes. Talk about efficiency.
Carson Cooper — C
This was one of those personal performances that Carson Cooper will likely want to forget, as he shot just 1-for-7 from the field. He did grab six rebounds and blocked a shot, but he needs to do a better job of finishing around the rim.
Kur Teng — A-
The 2025 Champions Classic may now be known as the Kur Teng Classic after what we saw from him on Tuesday night. He was looking like prime Kobe out there, hitting step-back jumpers, draining threes, and hitting crazy circus shots from behind the backboard on the baseline. Teng was fantastic, and he finished with a career-high 15 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Huge plays all night from Kur.
Cam Ward — B+
I’m only giving Cam Ward a B+ here because I just want to see more of him — that’s not on him. He’s just a tough player who really stood out against Kentucky’s talented squad, working harder than everyone he was matched up against. He had eight points and four rebounds in 17 minutes, but he’s looking like the team’s first or second guy off the bench. Bright future ahead for Ward.
Jordan Scott — C+
Jordan Scott played well, but he didn’t quite stand out like he has a couple of times already this season. He had just one point but grabbed three rebounds — two offensive — and had a big block. He’s going to have better games, but he played just 12 minutes.
Jesse McCulloch — B+
I loved what I saw from Jesse McCulloch on Tuesday night. He hadn’t had much of an impact this season through three games, but he got an opportunity against Kentucky and didn’t disappoint. He finished with eight points and two rebounds, hitting all three of his shots (two from deep) in nine minutes. He’s was the epitome of efficiency.
Divine Ugochukwu — C
Again, this is more of an average grade because he didn’t see much of the floor, and he scored just two points and didn’t have a major impact. I will say, however, it was nice to see him come in and not look overwhelmed against a top-tier opponent.
Denham Wojcik — B-
I feel like Denham Wojcik deserves a grade because he played just three minutes, but he was efficient, dishing out two impressive assists. He came in, made an impact, and subbed out. Just a solid performance from the team’s third point guard option.
Tom Izzo has to be proud of this team.