UNC-Michigan State Preview: Spartans Present Thanksgiving Test of Physicality

No. 16 North Carolina (6-0) vs. No. 11 Michigan State (6-0)
Fort Myers, Fla. — Suncoast Credit Union Arena
Thursday, Nov. 27 — 4:30 p.m.
FOX (Adam Amin, Jim Jackson)

Quotables

“I thought we were much stronger and handled the physicality much better in the second half. … Around the rim, we were dunking everything. We were going up strong. If we didn’t finish strong or dunk, we got fouled and got to the free throw line.” — UNC coach Hubert Davis on his team’s second-half surge vs. St. Bonaventure on Tuesday

“They are a different team. They’ve got a hell of a player in Wilson. I do believe he’s every bit as good as they say. And they do have size. They’re 6-10 on the wing, for God’s sakes. But they’ve got to guard us, too, so hopefully it’ll be a great game.” — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo on facing the Tar Heels

Pregame Notes

Frontcourt Powers Second-Half Surge: The Tar Heels raced past St. Bonaventure in the second half of Tuesday’s opening game at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Carolina led by two points at the half, but behind the play of frontcourt duo Henri Veesaar and Caleb Wilson, UNC broke away from the Bonnies after the break. Veesaar produced career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (13), while Wilson added 18 points and 12 rebounds. The win secured Carolina’s first 6-0 start since the start of the 2016-17 season.

Wilson has produced double-doubles in four straight games. He’s the first UNC freshman to accomplish that feat. The only other Tar Heels freshmen with three consecutive double-doubles are Armando Bacot, Antawn Jamison and Mike O’Koren. Wilson leads the Tar Heels in scoring, providing 20.2 points per game on efficient 61.2 percent shooting from the field. He’s also grabbing 10.3 rebounds per game and swiping 1.7 steals per contest.

Looking at Michigan State: The 11th-ranked Spartans are off to a 6-0 start of their own and have climbed up 11 spots in the AP Poll since the start of the season. MSU secured a pair of ranked wins against Arkansas at home (by a 69-66 margin) and at a neutral site over Kentucky (83-66), along with victories over Colgate (80-69), San Jose State (79-60) and Detroit Mercy (84-66). Michigan State blasted ECU 89-56 in its opening game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Tuesday. Known for their physical style of defensive play, the Spartans ranked eighth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy’s basketball database. 

The Spartans, of course, are led by longtime coach and Hall of Famer Tom Izzo. He’s in his 31st season, and is the second-longest tenured active coach in college basketball. Only Oakland’s Greg Kampe (in his 42nd season with the Golden Grizzlies) has been at the same coaching spot longer. Izzo has directed Michigan State to 27-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 Big Ten regular season titles and eight Final Fours.

Nation’s Top Playmaker Sets Table: Point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has been one of the nation’s top playmakers in the early season. He leads the country in assists, dishing out 10.2 assists per game. The 6-foot-2 Fears has supplied at least nine assists in every game this year, including a career-high 13 assists in the win over Kentucky. He’s also scoring 10.8 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting from the field and 43.8 percent shooting from 3-point range.

Having Fears as the table setter on offense has helped the Spartans to get hot from 3-point range recently. It’s an uncharacteristic trend for Michigan State under Izzo, who tends to produce teams centered around physical play inside. Last season, Michigan State ranked No. 319 nationally in 3-pointers attempted (19.5 attempts per game) and No. 324 nationally in 3-point percentage (31.1 percent). The Spartans were the worst 3-point shooting team in the Big 10. 

But Michigan State is shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range over the last three games. The Spartans connected on 13 made 3-pointers in the rout of East Carolina. Big man Jaxon Kohler led the way in that game, providing 16 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, including four made 3-pointers. He leads the Spartans in scoring at 15.3 points per game, and is shooting 45.5 percent from deep. He’s connected on 10 made 3-pointers this year, after making 19 3-pointers across all of last season.

Last Meeting: Michigan State outlasted UNC 94-91 in overtime in the third-place game of last year’s Maui Invitational. Drake Powell supplied a team-high 18 points off the bench, and knocked down four 3-pointers. Elliot Cadeau added 17 points and six assists, while RJ Davis supplied 16 points and seven assists.

Series History: Carolina leads the all-time series 13-5. The Tar Heels are matching up against Michigan State for the third time in as many years. These teams have split those two recent matchups, with Michigan State winning last year at the Maui Invitational and UNC winning in the Round of 32 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Projected UNC Starters:
0 Kyan Evans (Jr., 6-2, 175) — 8.5 ppg, 4.8 apg, 1.2 spg
8 Caleb Wilson (Fr., 6-10, 215) — 20.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.7 spg, 1.5 bpg
13 Henri Veesaar (Jr., 7-0, 225) — 16.3 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg
15 Jarin Stevenson (Jr., 6-10, 215) — 8.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg
44 Luka Bogavac (Jr., 6-6, 215) — 12.2 ppg, 3.2 apg

Projected Michigan State Starters:
1 Jeremy Fears (R-So., 6-2, 190) — 10.8 ppg, 10.2 apg, 2.0 spg
9 Trey Fort (Sr., 6-4, 200) — 7.2 ppg, 2.0 rpg
15 Carson Cooper (Sr., 6-11, 245) — 10.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg
55 Coen Carr (Jr., 6-6, 230) — 11.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.5 apg
0 Jaxon Kohler (Sr., 6-10, 245) — 15.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg

Key Michigan State Reserves:
3 Cam Ward (Fr., 6-9, 230) — 8.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg
2 Kur Teng (So., 6-5, 200) — 6.0 ppg, 1.3 rpg
6 Jordan Scott (Fr., 6-8, 200) — 3.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg

UNC Info
Schedule/Results
Roster & Bios
Stats

Michigan State Info
Schedule/Info
Roster & Bios
Stats