Jeremy Fears Jr. Runs the Show as No. 5 Michigan State Leads Wire to Wire to Upset No. 2 Duke

Michigan State did not wait long to make its point on Tuesday night in Chicago. The fifth-ranked Spartans scored first, never gave up the lead and beat No. 2 Duke 79-73 in the State Farm Champions Classic at the United Center.

Point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. ran the show with 18 points and 11 assists, and the Spartans' defense made life miserable for one of the most talented teams in the country. Michigan State improved to 3-0, while Duke fell to 2-1.

Michigan State jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first three minutes, according to MLive. Duke made just 7 of 27 shots in the first half, and the Spartans carried a 34-25 lead into the break. Fears already had eight assists by halftime, the Associated Press reported.

The lead grew to 50-36 with 13:37 to play when Fears finished a three-point play. Duke made one last push, an 8-0 run capped by two Caleb Foster free throws that cut the gap to 73-68 with 2:03 left. Michigan State answered. Sophomore forward Jordan Scott drove for a layup, and Fears sealed it with two free throws with 39 seconds remaining.

The numbers read like a classic Tom Izzo win. Duke shot 20 of 60 from the field, 33.3 percent, and went 7 for 29 from three-point range. Michigan State shot 44.6 percent and made 22 of 27 free throws. Duke actually won the rebounding battle 40-38, and both teams committed 13 turnovers, but the Spartans' defense swung key possessions with eight blocked shots and seven steals.

Scott was the anchor, with a career-high six blocks to go with nine rebounds and two steals. Sophomore forward Cam Ward added 14 points and six rebounds, freshman guard Jasiah Jervis scored 10, and senior forward Coen Carr had nine after early foul trouble. John Blackwell led Duke with 17 points, and Patrick Ngongba II added 11.

Izzo, now in his 32nd season in East Lansing, sounded like a coach who saw what he has been preaching. "I really believe that we played our best basketball of the year," he said, according to MLive.

This one meant something in the record book. It was Michigan State's first win over Duke since a 75-69 victory on Dec. 1, 2020, and it snapped a three-game losing streak in the series. Izzo is now 4-15 against the Blue Devils, and Duke still leads the all-time series 16-5. MLive called it the Spartans' highest-ranked win since they beat No. 2 Michigan in 2021. Michigan State is now 7-9 all-time in the Champions Classic.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer did not reach for excuses afterward. He said the night felt surreal, that his players were not connected on the floor, and he promised the problem would be fixed, OutKick reported. He gave the Spartans full credit. "They 100 percent deserved to win," Scheyer said.

Michigan State's win is worth celebrating beyond the poll numbers. Izzo's best teams have always been built on things that never show up in a recruiting ranking: defending, rebounding, sharing the ball and playing for each other. On Tuesday, that old-fashioned approach beat one of the deepest rosters in America on a neutral floor, with a point guard who set up teammates all night and a sophomore big man who protected the rim like his job depended on it.

There was something to admire on the other bench, too. Scheyer could have blamed the schedule or the shooting. Instead he said plainly that the better team won and that the fix starts with him and his players. That is the kind of accountability young athletes need to see from the men who lead them.

Three games into a long season, nobody's March is decided in November. Duke has the talent to bounce back quickly. But for one night in Chicago, the team that came ready to do the hard work walked away the winner.

Michigan State hosts Northern Iowa at the Breslin Center on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern on FS1, then meets No. 11 Tennessee on Nov. 17. Duke hosts SIU Edwardsville on Friday, and OutKick noted that the Blue Devils face top-10 opponents Illinois, UConn and Florida before Dec. 1.