Everyone always says that exhibition games don’t mean anything, but Jeremy Fears Jr. sees a ton of value in having faced UConn before the regular season.
The sophomore Michigan State guard had six turnovers in that exhibition game and you can bet that he hasn’t forgotten the type of team he saw that kind of gave the Spartans a wake-up call. They knew UConn was going to be a tough matchup, but they were knocked down early and never really recovered, losing by seven after trailing by as much as 19.
Tarris Reed didn’t play in that game either, but Michigan State learned a lot from that matchup according to Fears.
Fears admitted that if this was a first-time matchup with the Huskies, the Spartans might be in shambles for not knowing how fast and physical the Huskies are. That matchup gave the Spartans a good head start on scouting.
Asked Michigan St. PG Jeremy Fears the value of having seen UConn in the October exhibition: "I think if you were first-time playing UConn, you might be in shambles not knowing how fast, how physical, how good they shoot it, they move. All that stuff."
— Joe Arruda (@joearruda9) March 26, 2026
Obviously both teams are different now and the players even admitted that during their media session leading up to the game but they know each other’s tendencies and style of play. The only difference now is that both teams have improved in just about every facet of the game — especially Michigan State.
This is a much different Michigan State team
Since that exhibition games, Michigan State has gotten a ton better everywhere. Fears has gotten lightyears better since that matchup, and you could argue that his sloppy play is partially why the Spartans found themselves in a huge hole against the Huskies in that exhibition game. Fears had six turnovers to just six assists and he’s now an elite passer and protector of the rock.
Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler both had double-doubles but they took a combined 12 shots. You won’t see that little of production from the bigs against UConn this time around, especially with a healthy Reed on the other side.
Coen Carr looked decent, but he’s gotten a ton better since then, Kur Teng had zero confidence and it showed, Trey Fort looked solid but he’s hot right now, Jordan Scott showed flashes but has grown a ton as a starter, and Cam Ward was a ghost in that first matchup with one point and two rebounds in 21 minutes — he almost had a Tony Snell stat line (if you don’t know, look it up for a laugh).
The Spartans got beat on the glass, didn’t get out and run, shot just 18-for-46 from the floor, hit just four threes, missed 15 free throws, and had just nine assists to 12 turnovers.
Yeah, this is a way different team now.