Michigan State basketball rally falls short in Sweet 16 loss to UConn

WASHINGTON − Just like in so many games this season, Michigan State basketball basketball opened a game ice-cold.

And just like in so many of those games, the Spartans climbed out of their hole to make it a game. But this time, in the East region semifinal at Capital One Arena, the hole was just a little too deep, the second-half comeback stopped a basket or two short, as 3-seed MSU fell to 2-seed Connecticut, 67-63, on Friday, March 27.

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In what wound up as their final game of the 2025-26 season, in coach Tom Izzo’s 17^th Sweet 16, the Spartans head home, while the Huskies advance to the Elite Eight. UConn will face 1-seed Duke on Sunday (5:05 p.m., CBS) for a spot in next weekend’s Final Four.

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Coen Carr paced the Spartans with 13 points, while Jeremy Fears Jr. added 11 points, Jaxon Kohler had 12 points and Carson Cooper finished with 14 points.

Tarris Reed Jr. dominated in the paint for UConn, with 20 points and a key rebound of a missed Cooper free throw in the closing seconds, while Solo Ball added 12, Alex Karaban had 17 and Braylon Mullins posted eight.

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Déjà vu

The start looked eerily similar to MSU’s 76-69 exhibition loss to UConn on Oct. 28 in Hartford, Connecticut. Almost identical, actually.

The Spartans started off that fall game going just 2-for-13, and they were an even more abysmal 2-for-16 to open the Sweet 16 matchup. MSU went 8 minutes, 46 seconds between buckets after a Fears jumper at 18:44 and a Carr layup at 9:58.

Meantime, the Huskies banged in six of their first seven 3-point attempts and ripped off a 22-2 run between Spartan field goals. The Huskies also had six of their nine 3s in the exhibition win by halftime.

And just like in October, MSU found itself trailing by 19 points – only this time, it was less than 10 minutes into the game instead of midway through the second half.

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But as they did in the game that didn’t count, the Spartans slogged their way back slowly and methodically. Back-to-back layups by Carr and Kohler for a 4-0 run. A Fears steal and breakaway up-and-under around Reed, then a dish from the All-American point guard to Cooper for an alley-oop. The rough seas began to calm, and the tide started to shift.

After Reed drew Cooper’s second foul with a nifty post-up spin move with 3:09 left before intermission, the former Michigan big man missed the free throw. At the other end, Fears accepted a pick from Kohler, then fed his forward on the pop for MSU’s first 3-pointer after six early misses. Then Jordan Scott drove and hit a cutting Carr for another layup. UConn started to flub up, and Kohler hit a pair of free throws with 1:26 left.

Ball attacked and scored with just over a minute to go, but Fears countered at the other end with his own driving layup. The Spartans got another late defensive stop and somehow clawed their way back to within 35-27 at halftime – better than their 11-point hole in October.

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Despite going just 10-for-29, with Kohler’s triple the only one in eight attempts. Despite turning the ball over five times that led to eight points for the Huskies, who shot 56% but didn’t make another 3-pointer in the final 10:37 after their sizzling start. And despite getting outscored 5-2 in transition against UConn’s long-limbed defense.

Kohler had nine points and Carr seven at the break. Fears was just 3-for-8 for six points, while freshmen Scott and Cam Ward combined for nine rebounds in a 20-13 halftime edge on the glass.

Reed and Ball each scored eight at the break, but it was a combined effort as the Huskies had five others add three or more points.

What’s next for MSU

The Spartans end their season one round short of last year’s Elite Eight trip and two wins shy of another Final Four trip to Indianapolis for Izzo, who is now 61-27 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 11-6 in his 17 Sweet 16 appearances. It also ends the season for senior starters Kohler and Cooper, who went 57-15 over their final two seasons. MSU also loses Trey Fort, Denham Wojcik and Nick Sanders to graduation, and whatever might transpire with potential portal defections, as Izzo experienced last season. Arriving to potentially join Fears, Carr and the others is one of the nation’s best recruiting classes – the group of center Ethan Taylor, shooting guard Jasiah Jervis, point guard Carlos Medlock Jr., and forward Julius Avent – is ranked No. 2 according to 247 Sports’ composite rankings. MSU also is expected to get back swingman Kaleb Glenn from a summer 2025 knee injury that cost him the season and guard Divine Ugochukwu from a foot injury that ended his season in early February.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball rally runs short in Sweet 16 loss to UConn