One of the best traits of a Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State basketball team is its ability to move the ball. The Spartans have been one of the best passing teams in college basketball for decades, and that’s evidenced by their constant appearances on the Big Ten’s all-time assist leaders list.
Jeremy Fears is going to join that list soon enough, and he might end up leading all of college basketball is assists this season.
But it hasn’t been enough over the past 4-5 games, or so.
The Spartans are now 20-5 on the season after another disappointing loss to a Big Ten contender, this time losing to a red-hot Wisconsin team on the road by 21 points. The loss wasn’t all that surprising, but the margin of defeat was rather shocking.
Michigan State didn’t do much right, and one stat explained just why the Spartans lost by as much as they did and why the offense was so stagnant for most of the game: assists.
The Spartans had just 13 assists on 24 made baskets which isn’t enough on either end of that stat, but the most mind-boggling stat was the percentage of assists that came from Fears. He had 92 percent of the team’s assists which may not sound bad because he’s the best in college basketball, but that just proves that the ball movement just wasn’t there.
The first non-Jeremy Fears assist for Michigan State came with 1:30 left in the game by Jesse McCulloch https://t.co/fw1hBqDOjw
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) February 14, 2026
The only non-Fears assist came with 1:30 left in the game. That can’t happen — ever.
Michigan State plays its best basketball when everyone is moving the ball around. When there’s a shot right after the first pass, that’s usually a bad sign. It felt like there were a lot of rushed shots on Friday night, and a lot of that can be attributed to poor ball movement by everyone not named Fears. He can’t be the only one dishing the ball to open teammates.
Think about it: when Michigan State plays its best, the bigs are moving the ball from the top of the key to the post and from the post to the perimeter, and guys are sliding open everyone after the ball movement tires the defense a bit. That just didn’t happen against Wisconsin.
Fortunately, that’s a pretty easy fix, but it explains just why Michigan State didn’t stand a chance against the Badgers. You can’t fail to move the ball and keep the defense guessing and expect to win on the road.