Michigan State basketball picked up its fourth Big Ten win in five tries on Thursday night, beating Northwestern 76-66 in a pesky back-and-forth battle.
The Spartans were trailing for a good chunk of the game, and then some big makes and a massive Coen Carr dunk put the Wildcats away.
It wasn’t the best performance, but there were some Spartan standouts.
Who had the highest grade on Thursday night?
Carson Cooper — A
This may have been the best game of Carson Cooper‘s four-year Michigan State career. He was confident early on, going at defenders for some offense of his own, taking advantage of some favorable matchups. He finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, and a block on 6-for-6 shooting — and 6-of-8 from the line.
Jaxon Kohler — B
I liked what I saw (again) from Jaxon Kohler, for the most part. He’s the most improved player on the roster and one of the most improved in college basketball this season. He had 15 points and eight rebounds and shot over 50 percent from the field and was 3-for-6 from deep, but he only gets a B here because of his six turnovers. Jaxon was sloppier than usual.
Jeremy Fears Jr. — A-
Was this Jeremy Fears Jr.’s best game? No, but he was able to make his mark in the second half, hitting several clutch shots to help put a pesky Northwestern team away. Fears finished with 15 points and five assists with no turnovers. He was 4-for-11 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Coen Carr — B-
Some fans have become frustrated over Coen Carr’s play because he disappears and plays passively far too much, but he did have the dunk of the night (and potentially the season) which ignited the crowd for one final push. Eight points, six rebounds, and two steals isn’t a “bad” game, but 2-for-6 from the line is horrid.
Divine Ugochukwu — C
Divine Ugochukwu has been quiet since that breakout game against Penn State a month ago, and he didn’t necessarily have a poor performance, but it wasn’t notable. The starting two-guard had one point on 0-for-1 shooting from the floor and he had five assists, but his three turnovers overshadowed that a bit. We’ll see a lot better from Divine moving forward (hopefully).
Kur Teng — B+
This was a really sneaky-good game for Kur Teng. The backup shooting guard finished with just six points, but he grabbed six huge rebounds and had two assists with no turnovers. He played well on both ends of the floor.
Jordan Scott — B
Another guy who just always seems to be doing the right things is Jordan Scott. The freshman wing had six points, two assists, and two rebounds in 18 minutes, and he really played well with the time he was given. Izzo is starting to trust him more, and it shows.
Cam Ward — A-
Tough to believe that Cam Ward finished with the least minutes in the eight-man rotation that we saw on Thursday, but he made the most of them. He scored seven points with seven rebounds and he had four huge offensive boards. Opponents just don’t work hard enough against him.
Trey Fort, Denham Wojcik, Jesse McCulloch — Incomplete
I would’ve loved to give each one of these guys a grade from Thursday night’s win, but it looked like Izzo didn’t like what they brought to the table, matchup-wise.