Jeremy Fears Jr. Leads Michigan State To Statement Win Over Duke In Champions Classic

Jeremy Fears Jr. entered his senior year at Michigan State as the frontrunner for player of the year, second-team All-American, and the nation’s assist leader. Despite that, Fears started the season inconsistently, prompting Michigan State coach Tom Izzo to challenge his point guard heading into their game against Duke.

“You’re given a rank, you have a responsibility to live up to that ranking,” Izzo said. 

Fears accepted the challenge and led the No.5 Spartans to a statement win over No.2 Duke, 79-73, in the Champions Classic. The Blue Devils had no answer, never led and trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half.

The senior guard finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists; he became the second Division I player in the last five seasons to record at least 15 points, five rebounds and 10 assists against a top-five team, according to ESPN Research.

“He plays with amazing control over the game, and it’s hard to stop a guy if you give him 17 free throws,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “It’s really difficult. That was a big point of emphasis for us. I got to go back and watch how much of that was us, how much of that is him. He does a great job initiating. And then our pick-and-roll defense was the worst it’s been since I can remember. We were switching up coverages. We gave him way too much freedom.” 

Last season, when both teams met, Fears struggled; he went 0-for-10 from the field despite finishing with 13 assists. This year, he didn’t let last season’s struggles define him; in the opening minutes, he drew a foul driving to the basket on Michigan State’s second possession, then dished out three assists before the first media timeout.

At that point, Michigan State led 11-2 and dominated the rest of the game, not letting Duke get closer than three. Fears entered halftime with just three points; he then caught fire in the second half and scored 15 points in the final 20 minutes.

“[Izzo] has been big on me lately, especially about pushing the ball, pushing the tempo, and the past couple games I don’t think I’ve been doing that to the best of my ability,” Fears said. “So that was big on my mind, just try to get out, get out every possession.” 

With Fears orchestrating the offense, Jordan Scott led the Spartans’ defense. The 6-foot-8 sophomore finished with nine rebounds, six blocks and two steals; despite his jumper not falling, he still made an impact. His defensive effort helped lead a Spartans defense that held Duke to 25 points in the first half on 26% shooting. It was the lowest first-half shooting percentage under Scheyer, according to ESPN Research.

“Jordan is the X factor on defense,” said Michigan State forward Cam Ward, who had 14 points and six rebounds. “He does it all. He had six blocks tonight. He’s everywhere all the time, and it’s just a luxury to have him on our team, especially when he can be that guy for us.”

“Coming in, I thought Scott was their second-best player. He just impacts winning. He just really impacts winning. You got to give him a lot of credit,” Scheyer added.

Over the years, Duke has caused Michigan State a lot of pain. The Blue Devils are 11-3 against Michigan State since 2010, including a 2023 Champions Classic win and a 2022 NCAA tournament win.

This victory was Michigan State’s second over Duke in six Champions Classic meetings.

“As far as beating Duke, I’m apologizing to our fans, to my wife and my kids because they’ve beaten us like a drum now the last four or five times,” Izzo said. 

Duke arguably had its worst performance since the 2024-25 season; the Blue Devils have led or been within one possession of the lead in the final minute in each of their last 79 games. This included all 77 games over the last two seasons. That run ended on Tuesday; Duke never got closer than five in the second half.

The physicality and toughness of the Spartans’ defense left a mark; Duke turned the ball over nine times in the first half. The Blue Devils shot 7-for-29 from the 3-point range, missing their first eight shots beyond the arc and seven of their final eight.

“For me, it was a little bit [of an] out-of-body experience,” Scheyer said. “We weren’t connected. We weren’t connected, and we’re going to fix it. I can promise you that much. Our fans deserve better. That was not a good performance tonight.

“I’m responsible for how we played tonight. That wasn’t Duke basketball.”