Michigan State remains perfect after decisive win over North Carolina

Not many teams in the country have been tested through seven games like Michigan State has so far this season.

Despite challenges against the likes of Kentucky and Arkansas among others, the end result has remained constant.

The 12th-ranked Spartans (7-0) remained unbeaten, capping off a two-game trip to Fort Myers with a 74-58 Thanksgiving Day win over 17th-ranked North Carolina in front of a sold-out crowd at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

2025 Fort Myers Tip-Off: Michigan State, North Carolina notch wins

"It was a tale of two halves," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "Nine, 10 minutes into the game, I thought that we were supposed to be this tough team, and I thought they took it to us. I thought they were physical, I thought they bumped us on cuts in a good way, nothing wrong with it. I thought they denied some things and we were very stagnant offensively. And then we started breaking through and we started missing layups.

"At the 8-minute TV timeout, we went after our guys in the huddle. We've got to play with more pace, and then we went on a little run. In the second half, I thought we did a better job in a lot of ways. We outrebounded them, which was big. I thought we did a decent job on both sides."

Welcomed by a 3-to-1 pro-Michigan State crowd, which made its presence felt, the starting five on the floor did too. A 3-pointer from Trey Fort and a one-handed slam from Coen Carr gave Michigan State an early 5-0 lead less than a minute in.

Coveted freshman star Caleb Wilson responded with a pair of dunks for the Tar Heels, including a one-handed slam over 6-foot-11 center Carson Cooper to provide plenty of fireworks for those in attendance. Wilson, who entered averaging north of 20 points per game, was scoreless for the final 11-plus minutes of the first half and ended the game with a team-high 18 points, 6 of which came at the charity stripe.

"I thought we did a decent job on Wilson," Izzo said. "I think he's one of the best players I've seen. That spin move dunk, where I'm from, you don't ever see those things. But that was amazing."

Michigan State’s offense started to sputter after the under-16 media timeout, with North Carolina switching well and forcing Spartan possessions deep into the shot clock. The Tar Heel defense continued to pose problems for Michigan State, prompting a scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes. A corner trey from Jonathan Powell and an early lay-up inside from Jarin Stevenson forced Izzo to take a timeout at the 7:41 mark of the first, trailing by 7.

Jeremy Fears Jr. got going out of the timeout for Michigan State, weaving his way into the paint to snap the North Carolina run, which ultimately triggered his own team’s run. Fears assisted on a Jaxon Kohler triple before lobbing an alley-oop to Carson Cooper, who converted a three-point play to give Michigan State a 23-22 lead.

The pro-Spartan crowd continued to stay loud after the Spartans reclaimed the lead. A Divine Ugochukwu triple and a Cam Ward lay-up inside that was assisted by Fears extended the run to 13-0, forcing Hubert Davis to take a timeout to try and neutralize what largely felt like Breslin South.

"When we get to that level that we're playing at on both ends of the floor, be able to sustain it, and in order to win games like that, you have to do that for long periods of time. You don't have to be perfect, but longer periods of time. So, just a little discipline and details. They had 46 points in the paint. Defending without fouling, I think they went to the free throw line six or seven times, loose balls, offensive rebounds, they had 12.

"... I feel like we had some open shots on the perimeter, but we didn't shoot the ball very well. After the game, I told the guys that this is an opportunity to learn and grow, and that's what we'll do."

It was well-timed, considering Luka Bogavac ended the run with a 3-pointer near the top of the key on Carolina’s first shot out of the timeout. But after Fears woke up, he wasn’t going cold again, nailing a turnaround fadeaway that concluded the first-half scoring to give the Spartans a 33-28 lead at the break. Fears finished with 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting, adding 5 rebounds and 7 assists, ultimately proving to be a headache for a North Carolina backcourt that struggled to contain him.

"He controls the game," Davis said of Fears. "He's big, strong, plays under control when he gets into the lane in close spaces. He has the ability to be able to still make plays, plays off two feet, doesn't panic. He can score, he can distribute. His presence on both ends of the floor really settled him. He played a very good game tonight. I was impressed."

The second half was a good start for the Spartans on their first offensive possession, with Cooper capping off an and-1 opportunity from Fort to take a 36-28 lead. Cooper and North Carolina big man Henri Veesaar would trade buckets for their respective teams early in the second half, with Cooper finding success inside and Veesaar inside and outside. After the under-16 media timeout, Veesaar finished an alley-oop to get the Heels back within a possession.

Veesaar would largely keep the Tar Heels in it early on in the second half, helping jumpstart a North Carolina team that wasn’t getting much offensive output out of Wilson. Veesaar finished with 13 points, 11 of which came in the second half to lead all Tar Heel scorers.

"I just have to learn how to play with focus," Wilson said. "High school, I had to do it, but in college, there's more athleticism and better players. You just have to learn how to play with players focusing on me, being at the top of the scouting report. That's all it is. They just started face guarding me, trying to be physical off the ball."

Izzo’s team continued to attack the paint early in the second half, with 12 of the first 15 Spartan points coming inside. A North Carolina press on Ugochukwu looked to result in a turnover, but his pass to Kur Teng and the subsequent cross-court pass to Kohler ended in a corner 3-pointer to give the Spartans a 53-44 lead.

As much of an impact as Veesaar had early, Fears delivered the dagger, and then provided an encore.

The redshirt sophomore buried a triple to give the Spartans a 60-52 lead, and then found Ward on a fast break to extend the lead to double digits with just north of six minutes to play. With the shot clock dwindling down, Fears delivered a fadeaway off glass near the free-throw line to extend the lead to 66-54, delivering the arena into a cacophony of noise.

"I think we have the best fans," Cooper said. "So it makes it easy when you have that third aspect of the game. That can really help bring ourselves into it, and take away what they're going on. Especially when we get big plays, when we get big dunks like Coen's dunk at the end, I think it was kinda the moment it was over because of the crowd and the atmosphere provided extra pressure on them."

Michigan State shot north of 50 percent as a team against a North Carolina squad ranked 23rd in defensive efficiency by KenPom, fueled in large part by a second half that saw the Spartans shoot 18 of 29 from the field. Cooper and Kohler had 14 and 10 points, respectively, for Michigan State, with Ward adding 11 off the bench. Bogavac contributed 11 points for North Carolina, but was cold from beyond the arc on 1 of 6 shooting.

The Tar Heels (6-1) will aim to regroup in short order against Kentucky in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday, while the Spartans will kick off Big Ten play against unbeaten Iowa at home next week. Izzo likes the trajectory his team is on, looking to keep the momentum going heading into March.

"I think we're making progress, and that's what you want to do right now," Izzo said. "You want to get better every game. When you have measuring sticks against the three teams that we had, and bounce back against lesser opponents, we had games where we had a good first half and a poor second... We are not an overly talented team, but we are a connected team, but we're a together team, and we're a fairly tough team. When those things come together, special things can happen."

Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Michigan State defeats North Carolina at Fort Myers Tip-Off to stay unbeaten