The victory snapped a two-game losing streak for the Spartans and featured another stellar performance from point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., who led the Spartans with 26 points (including 11 in the extra period) and 15 assists – the third-most assists by an MSU player in program history, trailing only Mateen Cleaves’ 20 in 2000, Gary Ganakas’ 17 in 1972 and the 17 of his last month against Maryland.
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Jaxon Kohler had 11 points and 15 rebounds, freshman Jordan Scott added 10 points and three rebounds before fouling out and Kur Teng added 10 points for the Spartans.
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Round trip to finish the regulation
Teng hit a 3-pointer with 8.5 seconds left to give the Spartans a two-point lead, 71-69, about 100 seconds after Scott’s pair of free throws had given the Spartans their first lead of the second half.
But Illinois tied it with 1 second left when Illinois’ Jake Davis was fouled; He calmly made both shots. MSU had a chance to win as time expired, with Fears finding Carson Cooper at the goal with a ¾-court pass, but Cooper’s shot resonated off the back of the rim.
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Where does MSU rank in the Big Ten race?
With the win, the Spartans (20-4) improved to 10-3 in Big Ten play and sit 1½ games behind Michigan, which plays Sunday at Ohio State; MSU knocked Illinois out of a share of first place in the conference; The Spartans are in fourth place, a half-game behind Nebraska (10-2), which beat Rutgers on Saturday, and a half-game ahead of Purdue (9-3). The top four in the league qualify for a double bye at next month’s Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.
More controversy for Jeremy Fears Jr.
Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. moves the ball against Illinois during the first half on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
After spending the week debating whether to sit Fears, coach Tom Izzo stuck with the junior for most of the first half. Fears played 19 minutes before halftime, likely buoyed by Divine Ugochukwu’s season-ending injury in MSU’s loss to Minnesota on Wednesday, and scored four points on 2-of-6 shooting (including misses on both 3-point attempts) and added eight assists.
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Fears also continued to add to the controversy over whether he is a dirty player, as Illinois questioned the lack of a call on what appeared to be a trip by Fears of Illinois’ Davi Mirkovic. Leading the counterattack, Fears lobbed a pass to Jaxon Kohler in the left corner from the 3-point arc, landing at the line with his legs spread. Mirkovic fell on Fears’ left leg, but play continued and Kohler hit a three-pointer. Illinois coach Brad Underwood called a timeout to question the lack of a foul. But the referees, after reviewing the play, ruled that there was no foul.
A tight first half
Neither team could pull away for the first 20 minutes, with Illinois’ largest lead of six points just over 15 minutes in, negated by consecutive 3-pointers from Trey Fort and Kohler. Kohler had a good half, leading the Spartans with eight points and five rebounds. That included two three-pointers in four attempts. His teammates, however, struggled from beyond the arc, making just two of nine attempts from deep; Kur Teng was the only other Spartan to hit a three-pointer, in three attempts.
I killed you a lot
Michigan State’s Coen Carr dunks against Illinois during the second half on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
With less than a minute left in the first half, Fears set up one of the highlights of the season. Rushing up on the fast break, Fears fired a lob to the right side of the rim from 30 feet away; Coen Carr then ran under him from the left, caught him in the air, ducked his head to avoid hitting the rim and slammed it in while his back was to the net to make the score 37-35 Illinois with 50 seconds left.
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The next step for the state of Michigan
The Spartans have most of the week off before another prime-time game, this one in Madison against Wisconsin, which fell to Indiana in overtime on Saturday. The Badgers will be the first to be tested, as they take on the Illini on the road on Tuesday before hosting 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 gets a late shot to upset Illinois at home.