The Michigan State men's basketball team picked up another fairly stress-free win, as the Spartans took down the Florida Atlantic Owls by a score of final score of 86-69 on Saturday.
This is the 10th victory of the year for the Spartans (now 10-2 overall), and the fifth in a row. MSU maintained its undefeated home record on the 2024-2025 campaign as well (6-0).
The Owls fall to 7-6 overall on the season.
Michigan State got off to a quick start in this game behind the play of senior guard Jaden Akins, who scored a quick four points as the Spartans raced out to a 8-3 lead at the first media timeout.
Florida Atlantic had a response out of the first media timeout and made it evident that the Owls were not going to go away easy, as they had a 7-0 run of their own to take a 10-8 lead at the 14:32 mark of the first half.
After weathering the run from the Owls, the Spartans got back to being the aggressor as they were able to get stops, get out in transition and put pressure on the rim, which led to the Spartans making big plays and getting to the free-throw line. Two massive dunks by forward Coen Carr made the Breslin Center crow erupt, as the Spartans took a 27-20 lead with 5:58 left to play before halftime.
The Spartans kept their foot on the gas in the first half, continually putting pressure on the rim and forcing the Owls to foul, which got FAU into some serious foul trouble and led to MSU getting some easy points at the foul line.
As much of the season has gone the story of the Spartans' first half was exceptional defense and balanced scoring, as eight Spartans scored in the first 20 minutes of play. At the half, forward Frankie Fidler and point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. led Michigan State with eight points apiece. MSU went into the halftime break with a 42-29 lead.
The Spartans struggled from 3-point range in the first half, shooting just 2-for-9 from deep (22.2%), but held the Owls to 29.7% from the floor overall.
In the second half, the Spartans were able to pick up right where they left off early in the first half. A pair of free throws by forward Jaxon Kohler and a long rebound breakaway layup from Akins quickly extended the Michigan State lead to 46-29.
Much like the first half, the Owls had a response of their own after the early baskets from MSU, as Florida Atlantic proceeded to go on a 7-2 run to make the score the 48-36, with the Spartans still leading, with 13:49 left to play.
However, the Spartans answered once again, as they were energized by the young duo of Fears and Carr.
Fears' aggressiveness was evident in the second half, as he was able to do a little bit of everything. Whether it was setting guys up for easy baskets or getting to the hoop, his fingerprints were all over this game. He even was able to knock down a 3-pointer in this game, something he had done just twice on the campaign coming into Saturday's contest.
As good as Fears was, he was not the star of the show. That role belonged to Carr, who made highlight play after highlight play and brought a lot of energy to the Spartans. After a Florida Atlantic big man slipped to the rim uncontested, Carr flew in out of nowhere to erase a dunk attempt with a block and then drained his first career 3-pointer to push the Spartan lead to 18 points with 4:44 left in the second half. Carr also stuffed in several dunks throughout the game.
The Spartans were to maintain the lead for the last four minutes of the game and come away with the aforementioned 86-69 victory.
Michigan Stat was led by a career-high 17 points from Coen Carr, who also had a career-high eight rebounds.
Car was one of four Spartans in double figures. Fears added 13 points to go along with eight assists. Akins (13 points) and Fidler (10 points) also reached double-digits in scoring. Kohler led the Spartans in rebounding with 12.
The Spartans will get some time off, and will be back in action on Dec. 30, as they take on the Western Michigan Broncos (3 p.m. Eastern Time on the Big Ten Network).
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