No. 6 Michigan State fought back from an early deficit but could not complete the comeback, falling 78-70 to No. 4 UConn in an exhibition contest at the Breslin Center on Tuesday night. The Huskies weathered a determined Spartans surge in the second half before closing the game on their terms, handing MSU its second straight exhibition defeat to the same opponent.
Spartans Claw Back After Slow Start
Michigan State trailed 30-22 at the break after a sluggish offensive first half, but the Spartans wasted little time making it a game once play resumed. Baskets from senior forward Coen Carr, sophomore forward Jordan Scott and a layup from redshirt junior guard Jeremy Fears Jr. trimmed the deficit to just two points, 30-28. A layup from freshman center Ethan Taylor briefly pulled MSU within two before UConn answered with a three-point play from Colben Landrew to push the margin back to seven.
The back-and-forth continued deep into the second half. Scott's three-point play cut the gap to 41-38 with 14:03 remaining, and MSU trailed by only four points on three separate occasions over the following stretch, the closest coming on a Fears layup that made it 50-46 with 10:43 left. Taylor's jumper shortly after narrowed things to 53-48, keeping the Spartans within striking distance.
UConn's Decisive Run Proves Too Much
The turning point arrived when Nils Machowski drained a 3-pointer to spark an 11-2 UConn run over a two-and-a-half-minute span, stretching the Huskies' lead to 64-50 with 6:53 remaining. Michigan State never fully recovered, though it did not go quietly. Free throws from Fears cut the margin to 71-64 late, and an alley-oop finish from redshirt sophomore forward Jesse McCulloch made it 73-66 with 44 seconds left. UConn closed out the possessions that mattered to secure the eight-point win.
Shooting Struggles Define the Night
Michigan State's first-half performance proved costly. The Spartans managed just 22 points on 36.4 percent shooting (8-of-22) before the break and finished the game with 12 turnovers, 10 of which came in the opening 20 minutes. Perimeter shooting was a persistent problem throughout, with MSU hitting just 15.0 percent of its 3-point attempts (3-of-20).
Fears led all Spartans with 14 points, seven assists and three steals, while freshman guard Jasiah Jervis contributed 11 points off the bench. UConn's balanced attack and timely scoring runs ultimately decided a contest that was tightly fought for much of its second half.
Looking Ahead
This marked the second consecutive year Michigan State and UConn have met in the preseason, with the Huskies also prevailing 76-69 last season in Hartford. For the Spartans, Tuesday's game was the second of three scheduled exhibitions. Michigan State will close out its preseason slate on Sunday, Oct. 25, with a road trip to face Marquette. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET, with the game available via live stream on YouTube.
