Michigan State basketball guard Jeremy Fears Jr. had a great night during the Spartans’ 91-87 win over Rutgers on Thursday, March 5.
Fiers tied for a team-high 21 points and dished out eight assists, 20 points shy of surpassing MSU’s single-season record of Mateen Cleaves, and the win sealed a three-bye into next week’s Big Ten Conference tournament in Chicago.
advertise
It’s not all flowers and championship plans, however, and Thursday’s series of games taught a lesson to Tom Izzo, the Phils’ Hall of Fame coach in his 31st season.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo gets into an argument with the referee after guard Jeremy Fears Jr. (1) fouled during the first half against Rutgers on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
Big picture view: Michigan State basketball learns March Madness lessons in final game
Fiers was whistled twice early in the game when he thought Rutgers guard Lino Mark appeared to trip him unintentionally with 10:56 left, then received a technical foul (his fourth total foul) for jumping and pointing at the video scoreboard during replay.
Izzo argued with the referee, but to no avail.
Izzo then told the Breslin crowd at the beginning of his senior ceremony address that Fiers didn’t deserve the technical criticism.
advertise
Later, however, the Hall of Fame coach admitted his mistake in his 31st season, and it was actually written in the NCAA’s rule book and was ruled correctly.
This rule, which appears in Article 10, Section 3, Section 1 of the 2025-26 NCAA Men’s Basketball Rule Manual, determines a technical foul in the following situations:
“Unsportsmanlike conduct by a player or substitute, including but not limited to the following…”
It’s a bit strange here as there is no actual wording referencing the video board or screen. But at least a few subsets can be said to cover situations of fear. Among them:
advertise
“a. Call an official disrespectfully or make a gesture of displeasure.”
Or… “c. Incite an undesirable crowd reaction.”
Article 2 of the same section deals with “substitutes” – which doesn’t seem to apply to players on the field, such as Fiers, “engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct, including but not limited to the following:
“a. A disrespectful name for an official.
“b. Attempt to influence an official’s decision.
“e. Object to an official’s decision by rising from the bench or using hand signals.
advertise
“f. Incite adverse crowd reactions.”
Regardless of the specific event that hurt Fiers, Rutgers’ Tariq Francis stepped to the free throw line, which made the game 14 points at the time.
Later, Izzo blamed himself for not understanding the rules and not passing them on to Fiers.
Likewise, Fiers noted the lesson he learned: “I was trying to signal to my bench that I didn’t really foul him. He was going full speed, and then he fell. He lost his balance and tripped,” Fiers said. “But I didn’t know you couldn’t [point to the replay board]. So this is new. But at the same time, now I know better than to let this happen again. “
advertise
Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes Apple Podcasts, Spotify Or wherever you listen to podcasts.
This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: Jeremy Fears Jr. gets technical foul that even Tom Izzo didn’t expect
