Coen Carr might be the best dunker in all of competitive basketball, but he showed other parts of his game in March Madness for Michigan State basketball against Louisville.
It’s something MSU coach Tom Izzo, aka Mr. March, has been trying to conjure all season, but Carr is doing it at the right time of year in the 2026 NCAA Tournament for the Spartans.
Carr’s 21 points, including two 3s and three dunks, helped the 3-seed Spartans to a 77-69 win past 6-seed Louisville basketball in the second round Saturday, March 21, at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York, with a Sweet 16 berth up for grabs.
Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with an MSU NCAA tournament-record 16 assists, creating or scoring 30 of MSU’s points in the second half by finding numerous players all over the court in a well-balanced effort for MSU. His 9.2 assists leads the nation.
MSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half, and took a 36-31 lead into halftime. Louisville shot poorly, but MSU committed nine turnovers to keep the game tight. MSU makes eight 3s per game, yet hit 7-for-14 in the first half from deep.
MSU has reached the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row and third time in the past four years. It will play the winner of 2-seed UConn vs. 7-seed UCLA, a Sunday night game in Philadelphia, next Friday in the nation’s capital at the East Regional semifinals.
Here’s a recap of the Michigan State vs. Louisville game and highlights below.
Michigan State vs Louisville basketball highlights
Michigan State makes 17th Sweet 16 under Tom Izzo
Izzo and athletic director J Batt hugged in the tunnel postgame, after MSU’s 17th Sweet 16 berth under Izzo was clinched. Izzo is 61-26 in the NCAA tournament as MSU coach.
Jeremy Fears: Michigan State is ‘Point Guard University’
“Overall, it’s my teammates. They making the shots, they doing the hard part, I’m just getting them the ball,” Fears said postgame, after handing out 16 assists, an NCAA tournament record for the program. Fears broke Magic Johnson’s record of 14.
Tom Izzo interview
Izzo’s on-court postgame interview with CBS’ Allie LaForce:
“We actually played so well, we just had some foolish turnovers, our bigs weren’t very good early. I think everybody was a little nervous, I hate to say that, but we made some bonehead plays turning the ball over, and yet we did a lot of good things and I’m just happy we won.”
Izzo was asked about the bench, and said Trey Fort “did a hell of a job coming in and our bench did do a good job. That’s what it’s about, strength in numbers.” Fort scored 12 points, making 3 of 5 3s. The senior guard came in averaging 3.9 points per game.
Watch Izzo’s answers below:
Michigan State basketball wins 77-69, advances to Sweet 16
Final score: MSU 77-69
Fears splits the double-team in the backcourt and throws it to a wide-open Carson Cooper for a slam to ice the game. Fears finishes with 12 points and 16 assists.
Louisville stays alive against Michigan State
SCORE: MSU 75-69, 11.8 seconds left
Carr bricks two free throws and Louisville scores a quick layup to climb within six.
Michigan State strong with the ball, FT time
SCORE: MSU 74-64, 43 seconds left
“Go Green, Go White” chants take over KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Michigan State poised to finish off Louisville
SCORE: MSU 72-59, 1:50 2H
Fears makes two free throws after just getting across the timeline before 10 seconds, then the Cardinals missed a 3-pointer. Fears then lobs one to Carson Cooper in transition and the crowd knows the outcome is nearly finalized.
Coen Carr hits another 3 for Michigan State; Louisville answers
SCORE: MSU 66-56, 4:23 2H
Carr is owning the moment, hitting a left corner 3-ball in front of the MSU bench with the shot clock near zero. He has 19 points now after his second 3 of the game.
But Adrian Wooley answered with his own 3-pointer after an offensive rebound. Wooley has 15 points and is 3-for-6 on 3s.
Louisville flagrant-1 foul opens game for Michigan State
SCORE: MSU 63-50, 6:40 2H
Vangelis Zougris’ hard foul on Jaxon Kohler was upgraded to an F-1, and Kohler sunk both free throws to knot MSU’s largest lead of 10. Carr then saved the ensuing possession by throwing the ball off a Louisville player while falling out of bounds.
Fears found Kohler on a pick-and-pop, and the senior big man finally drained the top-of-the-key 3-pointer for MSU’s biggest lead yet. He’s now 2-for-6 on 3s and Fears has 13 assists.
Coen Carr steps up big for Michigan State in March Madness
Carr drains a lefty fadeaway and-one off a pivot, and sunk the free throw to give MSU a 58-50 lead. He has a game-best 16 points.
Louisville basketball answering Michigan State
SCORE: MSU 55-50, 7:59 2H
Michigan State has been unable to shake Louisville in an entertaining second half so far.
Trey Fort feeling it off Michigan State bench
SCORE: MSU 53-47, 10:17 2H
Fort rose up from the right wing and sunk a 3-pointer after Louisville missed a tying 3-pointer on the other end. He has 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting, all 3s.
Jaxon Kohler clanked a chance to increase the breathing room, off from the top of the key. He’s 1-for-5 on 3s and 2-for-7 overall. MSU is 9-for-22 on 3s (41%).
Ryan Conwell injury update
Conwell has been playing with a hobbled ankle, which he injured in the first half. He leads Louisville with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-6 on 3s.
Michigan State basketball vs Louisville score
SCORE: MSU 50-44, 12:22 2H
The shot making is intensifying, with the teams trading buckets.
Louisville basketball hanging with Michigan State
SCORE: MSU 44-40, 14:31 2H
Isaac McKneely makes his second 3-pointer − he was 7-for-10 in the first round against South Florida. He’s 2-for-5 from deep today, and Louisville is just 5-for-21 in the game.
Coen Carr dunk party starts 2nd half
SCORE: MSU 42-33, 18:20 2H
Carr can fly, and might be the best dunker in all of competitive basketball.
He came out with two quick dunks in the first few minutes of the half, one on an alley-oop from Fears, and another in transition with his hand way above the rim. Carr leads MSU with 11 points. Fears has 19 assists in two games thus far in Buffalo, eight today.
MSU vs Louisville stats
Here are the first-half stats, with MSU leading 36-31:
Adrian Wooley and Ryan Conwell lead the Cardinals with nine points apiece. Coen Carr has seven to guide MSU.
MSU leads UL basketball at halftime
SCORE: MSU 36-31, halftime
MSU had the last shot of the half and drew up a play after calling timeout. UL switched to a zone defense, but Teng had a good-look from 3 near the top of the key and was well short.
Coen Carr dunk highlight
SCORE: MSU 33-26, 3:04 1H
We get our first Carr highlight slam of the day on a back cut for an alley-oop from Jeremy Fears Jr.
Fears led the Big Ten in points created (points+assists). He led the nation with 9.2 assists per game.
Carr might be the best dunker in basketball, period.
MSU-UL first half stats
SCORE: MSU 31-23, 3:46 1H
Spartans hot from 3-point range
SCORE: MSU 27-19, 7:06 1H
The Spartans are 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. Kur Teng is 2-for-2 off the bench. MSU entered the game making a solid 35.9% on 3s.
Carson Cooper rare 3-pointer puts MSU up 22-12
Cooper was 1-for-4 from 3-point range this season, until a make from the right wing with the shot clock winding down with under 10 minutes to play in the half. Louisville is 3-for-14 on 3s.
MSU up 19-12 on Louisville
MSU leads on a Jaxon Kohler 3-ball just before the under 12-minute timeout. But Izzo wasn’t pleased with giving up two offensive rebounds, he told CBS sideline reporter Allie LaForce. “We don’t do that here,” he said. Izzo is 60-26 in the NCAA tournament.
Jeremy Fears no-look pass sets up Cam Ward
Fears picked up his second assist of the day by finding Ward after a Louisville miss. Ward pump-faked two defenders and laid it in for an 11-7 lead. Kur Teng made it a 9-0 MSU run with a 3-pointer.
Coen Carr, MSU tied with Louisville early
SCORE: MSU-UL 7-7, 15:43 1H
Coen Carr scores MSU’s first points on a right corner 3-pointer in front of the Louisville bench. The Cardinals scored the first four points, but Carson Cooper’s putback layup gave MSU its first lead, 5-4, less than four minutes in. Carr tied the game at 7-7 with a transition bucket after a made 3.
MSU-Louisville winner will play UConn-UCLA winner in Sweet 16
The winner of today’s 3-seed Michigan State vs. 6-seed Louisville game will have to wait one day to find out its opponent in the Sweet 16 in Washington. 2-seed UConn and 7-seed UCLA meet Sunday night (8:45 p.m. ET) in Philadelphia for the second spot in the East Regional semifinals. The Sweet 16 game will be Friday, March 27, at Capital One Arena. The time has yet to be announced.
Michigan State basketball March Madness game time vs Louisville
What channel is Michigan State vs Louisville in March Madness?
Fubo, a streaming platform, has games on CBS.
Watch NCAA tourney on Fubo (free trial)
Where is Sweet 16, Elite Eight for East region?
If the Spartans advance to the Sweet 16 with a win over Louisville, they’ll be heading to the nation’s capital, where two wins can get them to the Final Four in Indianapolis.
Need to catch up on the news during your lunch break? Sign up for our Sports Briefing newsletter to get daily summaries of Detroit sports!
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State Louisville basketball score, highlights in March Madness
Reporting by Andrew Birkle and Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
