EAST LANSING — Jeremy Fears Jr.’s 3-pointer with 1:47 left in overtime gave the No. 10 Michigan basketball team an 85-82 comeback victory over No. 6 Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 7.
The win ended a two-game losing streak for the Spartans and featured a stellar performance from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who had 26 points (including 11 in overtime) and 15 assists, the third-most assists by a MSU player in history behind Mateen Cleaves’ 20 points in 2000 and 15 assists in 1972. Gary Ganakas’ 17 points and his own assists. Played against Maryland on the 17th of last month.
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Jaxon Kohler had 11 points and 15 rebounds, freshman Jordan Scott had 10 points and three rebounds before fouling out, and Kurt Teng had 10 points for the Spartans.
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Complete adjustment back and forth
Teng’s three-pointer with 8.5 seconds left gave the Spartans a two-point lead, 71-69, about 100 seconds after Scott’s two free throws gave the Spartans their first lead of the second half.
But Illinois tied the game with 1 second left when Illinois’ Jake Davis was fouled. He calmly hit both shots. As time expired and Michigan State had a chance to win, Fiers found Carson Cooper with a pass from beyond the arc, but Cooper’s shot clanged off the back of the rim.
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Where does Michigan State rank in Big Ten competition?
With the win, the Spartans (20-4) improved to 10-3 in the Big Ten and are 1.5 games behind Michigan State, which will face Ohio State on Sunday. Michigan State knocked Illinois out of first place in the conference; the Spartans were fourth, a half game behind Nebraska, which beat Rutgers 10-2 on Saturday, and a half game ahead of 9-3 Purdue. The top four teams in the conference qualify for the Big Ten Championships in Chicago next month.
Jeremy Fears Jr. sparks more controversy
Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. throws a pass during the first half against Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
After spending the week debating whether to play Fiers, coach Tom Izzo insisted on playing the third-year sophomore for much of the first half. Fiers played 19 minutes before halftime (possibly due to a season-ending injury to Divine Ugochukwu in MSU’s loss to Minnesota on Wednesday), scored four points on 2-for-6 shooting (including missing two 3-pointers) and dished out eight assists.
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Phils also continued to fuel the controversy over whether he was a dirty player, with Illinois questioning whether Phils’ Davi Mirkovic didn’t appear to be getting the call. During the fast break, Fiers passed the ball to Jaxson Koehler in the left corner of the three-point line and landed on the free throw line with his legs spread. Mirkovic fell on Fiers’ left leg, but the game continued and Kohler hit a three-pointer. Illinois coach Brad Underwood called a timeout to challenge the no-foul situation. But the referee ruled there was no foul after reviewing the play.
Nervous first half
Neither team was able to pull away in the first 20 minutes, with Illinois’ largest lead of six points a little more than 15 minutes into the game, but that was offset by back-to-back 3-pointers from Trey Ford and Kohler. Kohler had a strong first half, scoring eight points and five rebounds for the Spartans. That included two 3-pointers on four field goal attempts. However, his teammates struggled from beyond the arc, taking just two attempts from beyond the arc. Kuerten was the only Spartan to make a 3-pointer in three attempts.
Dislike you very much
Michigan State’s Cohen Carr dunks during the second half against Illinois at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026.
With less than a minute left in the first half, Fiers produced one of the highlights of the season. During the fast break, Fiers ran in the frontcourt and fired a lob to the right side of the basket from 30 feet; Cohen Carr then ran under the ball from the left, caught the ball in mid-air, lowered his head to avoid hitting the basket, and then slammed the ball home with his back to the net, giving Illinois a 37-35 lead with 50 seconds left in the game.
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What’s next for Michigan State University
The Spartans have the better part of a week off before another primetime game in Madison against Wisconsin, which lost to Indiana in overtime on Saturday. The Badgers will be tested first on the road against the Illini on Tuesday before taking on the Spartans on Friday (8 p.m., Fox).
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball finds field goal late, disrupts Illinois at home