Coen Carr sparks win in Big Ten tourney

[ad_1]

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s not often that Coen Carr misses a dunk. But he did Friday in Michigan State basketball’s Big Ten tournament opener with Oregon.

Twice. And absorbed a hard foul on a third attempt.

It didn’t matter to Tom Izzo. One bit.

“Coen grew up today,” the Hall of Fame coach said proudly in the MSU locker room after a 74-64 win over Oregon. “In a lot of ways.”

Carr finished with 10 points and tied a career high with eight rebounds. Sure, his first-half 3-pointer was a key part of a strong first-half finish that sent the No. 6 Spartans (27-5) into the break with a 10-point lead. But it was his second half intensity — particularly on the boards — that pushed 1-seed MSU into Saturday’s semifinal against 5-seed Wisconsin (1 p.m., CBS).

BRACKETOLOGY: John Beilein pained to say: Michigan State basketball should be a 1-seed in March Madness

And the Spartans’ eighth straight win has them thinking about something bigger — making a case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the selections are announced Sunday.

“That’s the talk around the locker room,” freshman Jase Richardson said, “trying to get a 1-seed.”

Richardson, who had 17 points despite going 4-for-13, took a knee to the neck late in the win but said afterward he felt fine and will be ready for Saturday’s semifinal.

On Friday, MSU’s offense sputtered with four early turnovers to start the second half, and Oregon (24-9) clawed back within a point as Keeshawn Barthelemy’s 3-pointer capped an 11-2 run. Izzo called timeout with 15:33 left.

“We had some turnovers, we took some bad shots,” redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said. “And we just were out of sync while they were making that run.”

Carr took over with an energized and impactful 6½-minute stretch as part of a 15-0 counterpunch knockout.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore swingman ripped five rebounds in that stretch, including a put-back after a Frankie Fidler jumper in the paint. Then after a Fidler 3-pointer in…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/michigan-state/spartans/2025/03/15/michigan-state-basketball-coen-carr-sparks-win-in-big-ten-tourney/82418253007/

Author :

Publish date : 2025-03-15 10:05:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.