Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo didn't hold back following the Spartans' 76-73 loss to the Minnesota Gophers on Wednesday, calling out sophomore point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. for repeated on-court infractions. After a replay showed his foot made contact with Minnesota guard Langston Reynolds’ groin late in the second half, the officials assessed Michigan State's Fears, who leads the team with 14.9 points per game and ranks second in the nation with 8.8 assists, a technical foul.
At the time of the foul, Michigan State was behind 46-40 with 13:28 remaining. Izzo immediately benched Fears, who later returned to finish the game with a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists over 32 minutes.
“I sat him for a while, and I don't even know if I'm gonna start in the next game,” Izzo said. “But I stuck up for him, too, because of what happened in the last game. I'll just say what happened in the last game, the way that was handled was poorly, too. And so that starts everything, but Jeremy's got to grow up a little bit, but at least he played harder. I'm worried about my other (three) guys not playing hard enough.”
The technical foul came on the heels of a controversial play against Michigan last Friday. Fears collided with Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg in a breakaway attempt, a play Michigan coach Dusty May described as “dangerous” and “intentional.” Fears scored 31 points, grabbed five rebounds, and contributed seven assists in that 83-71 loss.
The Spartans, currently 9-3 in Big Ten play and fourth in the standings, have now lost two consecutive games for the first time in nearly a year. Michigan State got off to a slow start on Wednesday, falling behind 32-21 at halftime against a Gophers team that played just 17 bench minutes. Minnesota's hot shooting, including seven first-half three-pointers, allowed the Gophers to build leads as large as 16 points. MSU got within two points with less than a minute left, but Minnesota held on for the win.
Izzo also made lineup adjustments, starting shooting guard Jordan Scott for the first time this season. Scott finished with 15 points, shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from three, while Coen Carr led the Spartans with 16 points and six rebounds. Trey Fort added 12 points, including four three-pointers.
Michigan State will next face No. 5 Illinois on Saturday, but Fears' on-court antics leave his participation up in the air.
