Spartans' Sweet 16 rally runs out in loss to UConn

WASHINGTON — It was the biggest March Madness comeback in Michigan State history, until it wasn’t. But it sure was one heck of a basketball game.

From trailing by 19 points midway through the first half to leading halfway through the second, No. 3 seed Michigan State pulled a pending blowout from the brink. But in the end, No. 2 seed UConn proved too much Friday, ending the Spartans’ season, 67-63, in the Sweet 16 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

After making his 17th Sweet 16, Tom Izzo moved to 61-27 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. His four-year seniors Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and Nick Sanders finished their MSU careers 57-14 with three Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight run in 2025.

Michigan State’s starters combined for 57 points, including 26 from seniors Cooper and Kohler, who also hauled in a combined 14 rebounds battling against UConn’s 6-foot-11 mauler Tarris Reed Jr. The Spartans (27-8) fought for 34 points in the paint despite him, while Jeremy Fears Jr. had 13 points, shot 5-for-15 and had seven assists.

For UConn (32-5), its vaunted frontcourt of Reed and Alex Karaban scored 20 and 17, while a 6-for-7 start on 3-pointers played a major role in a 22-2 run up to the midpoint of the first half. Streaky shooting guard Solo Ball hit a pair of 3-pointers and had 12 points, while freshman Braylon Mullins had eight points with two 3-pointers.

The roots of the comeback showed in the first half, as a 19-point deficit faded to 35-27 at halftime, Cooper brought the Spartans within five with an and-one 36 seconds into the second half. And a big sequence from Coen Carr saw the acrobatic dunker translate his hops into a swat as he turned a surefire bucket for UConn’s Reed into his own long jumper at the other end. He got the Spartans as close as a point, 35-34, on an and-one try but he missed the free throw.

UConn jumped back out to a 40-34 lead as freshman Braylon Mullins hit a 3-pointer and Reed picked Cooper’s pocket for a scoop-and-score of a steal. A pair of 3-pointers from Jordan Scott and Trey Fort in the first eight minutes kept it close, 42-40.

Here, UConn got a leveling presence from its senior, two-time national champion Karaban. He hit a pair of layups when the game became a one-shot affair, keeping UConn up 44-40 with 11:47 to play.

Michigan State’s own seniors made their last hurrah count, too. After a challenge turned a Michigan State ball into UConn’s, Cooper hauled in a rebound and sprung the ball forward to Fears, who hit Kohler for an and-one layup. The layup tied the score at 44, and the free throw provided a 45-44 lead. Kohler’s first points of the second half had pulled a 19-point deficit into a lead.

The teams traded leads with makes from Reed and Cooper until a 5-0 burst capped by a Karaban 3-pointer put UConn up 51-47. Then Fears took command. He sprinted for a sprawling layup, his body smacking off the hardwood with his arms up looking for the foul. He got it on the next possession, when Silas Demary Jr. hauled him down to the floor. As Fears sprung up, he motioned to the crowd with waving arms, hyping up a side of the crowd that had grown bolder with 7:40 showing on the clock.

A scoreless, scrappy two minutes ticked off the clock with the game within Michigan State’s grasp. Then came Ball with four points in a 5-0 run that made it 56-49 UConn with five minutes to play. Cooper responded with a dunk and two free throws. With 3:08 to play, a one-shot game at 58-55 paused for a decisive timeout.

More tentative, scoreless minutes ticked off. Then Fears drew an offensive foul from Karaban with 2:20 to play, and that turned into another dunk for Cooper to make it a 58-57 game. Dan Hurley called timeout as Michigan State’s bench roared.

Out of the timeout, Cooper’s close-out on Karaban came too late, and the Huskies’ senior hit a 3-pointer to make it 61-57. Fears matched him at the other end with 1:11 to go.

Fans stood, some clapping, some holding hands on their head as Reed dribbled and drove into Kohler under the rim. With 44.8 seconds to play, Reed — of so much physical menace in this game — stepped to the line. He hit the first shot. Then the second off the back rim. Michigan State trailed three with 41.5 seconds to go.

On a drive to the rim with 32.3 seconds on the clock, Fears sprawled to the ground and got that call he’d been looking for in the second half. He hit both shots to bring the game back to a point, 63-62.

Timeout Michigan State.

After navigating a press, on a foul away from the ball, Karaban went to the line next and hit his shots, 22.5 seconds showing on the clock. Kur Teng chucked up a 3-pointer that missed. But an over-the-back call on Reed — his fourth foul — gave Cooper free throws with 4.6 seconds to go. He hit the first, then UConn called a timeout. Cooper missed the second as Reed hauled it in. Fears fouled him, and the UConn center went to the line with 4.0 seconds on the clock. One shot fell, then the second.

Ballgame. Season.

The first half felt like a sucker punch for Michigan State, which went down 25-6 by the midpoint as UConn went on a 22-2 run. The Spartans missed 13 straight shots over 8:47 — they even split their two trips to the foul line. Meanwhile, UConn shot 6-for-7 on 3-pointers, with makes from five players and two from streaky shooter Solo Ball.

Even with all those misses piling up, Michigan State had its chances to make good on second-chances. However, eight offensive rebounds for the Spartans only led to a single basket — a pull-up for Fears that made it 4-3 MSU 1:14 into the game.

One possession about six minutes in embodied the struggle. Teng pulled up for a middy that clanged off iron. He chased his own rebound, got it, then lost the ball as a sprawling defender knocked it loose. Kohler grabbed the ball, passed it off and got open for a 3-pointer later in the possession. No dice. And even as he chased his own miss and got that, too, a third-chance for Fears didn’t fall either. And when Jordan Scott hauled in that rebound to set up classmate Cam Ward for a layup, UConn guard Mullins blocked that, too.

It took a layup from Carr to get the lid off at 9:59, and that sparked a 6-0 burst for Michigan State to start digging out of its 19-point hole. The rest of the way, Michigan State outscored UConn by 11, with a 9-2 run in the final three minutes making it a respectable 35-27 difference at halftime. Kohler hit a 3-pointer while Carr and Fears drove for layups during that span.

Michigan State found 16 points in the paint in the first half, with Kohler (nine points), Carr (seven) and Fears (six) a part of that. They shot 8-for-18. Six other teammates shot a combined 2-for-11. Against a UConn defense whose length and frequent help made ball movement difficult for the Spartans, the Spartans shot 10-for-29, though they made six of their last eight shots before halftime.

Outside of strong 3-point shooting, UConn got a steady diet inside from Reed., who shot 4-for-8 in the first half and started his day with a bang. Driving around the right side of MSU center Carson Cooper, he split between him and help from Ward for a leaping dunk 3:37 into the game. The 6-foot-11 center finished with three assists in the first half.