Michigan State basketball started the season with a victory on Monday night.
The Spartans were tested but came out on top in their season-opener against Colgate. Michigan State won by the final score of 80-69.
Check out below the updates throughout this game.
Final Score: MSU – 80, Colgate – 69
Michigan State closes out pesky Colgate for the season-opening win. The Spartans played better in the second half and were able to take control in the final 10 minutes of the game.
Four different Spartans reached double-digits in points in this opener, lead by Kohler with 16 points and also 15 rebounds for the double-double. Fears also had a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists, Carr had 12 points and Cooper had 10 points.
Plenty for the Spartans to work on out of this game. Especially with a top 25 foe coming to town later this week in Arkansas. Michigan State’s next game will be on Saturday night against Arkansas at 7 p.m. ET.
MSU – 76, Colgate – 64 with 1:27 left in 2nd Half
Getting close to the end of this one with Michigan State in control late.
MSU – 62, Colgate – 52 with 7:46 left in 2nd Half
The Raiders are not going away. Michigan State built up a 15-point lead, but Colgate has quickly gotten it back to 10 and will have a free throw attempt after the media timeout.
Michigan State is led in scoring by Carr with 12 points. Kohler is behind him with 10 points.
MSU – 58, Colgate – 47 with 9:49 left in 2nd Half
Carr scores five straight points for the Spartans to push their lead to double-digits for the first time tonight. Carr first completed an alley-oop and-one play for three points. Then on the next possession throws down a put-back dunk for two more points.
MSU – 52, Colgate – 45 with 12:00 left in 2nd Half
The Spartans are starting to come to life with some more grittier play. The defense has picked up and so has their effort on the offensive glass. Cam Ward will be heading to the free throw line after the media timeout to potentially push the Spartans lead to near double-digits.
Fort gave Michigan State some strong minutes in this four-minute stretch with six points. He now is up to nine on the night.
MSU – 43, Colgate – 41 with 15:35 left in 2nd Half
Colgate has tied it up a couple of times here early in the second half, but Michigan State is back on top heading into the first media timeout. Cooper should be heading to the free throw line after the timeout for two shots.
Colgate is shooting 48% from the field and 44% from three-point range. The Raiders came ready to play tonight and Michigan State is quickly approaching upset alert.
MSU – 37, Colgate – 34 at Halftime
Colgate hits a three in the final seconds of the opening half to make it a one-possession game heading into the break.
Michigan State was led offensively by Fears with eight points and six assists in the first half. But defensively there is plenty of room for improvement, with Colgate shooting nearly 50% from three-point range in the opening half of the season.
MSU – 27, Colgate – 24 with 4:16 left in 1st Half
Raiders are keeping it tight with the Spartans as we approach the end of the first half.
MSU – 23, Colgate – 17 with 6:46 left in 1st Half
Back and forth play between the Spartans and Raiders with scoring starting to pickup as well.
MSU – 13, Colgate – 8 with 10:50 left in 1st Half
Spartans have gone cold offensively with no points in the last 3:08. It’ll be their ball though after this media timeout.
MSU – 13, Colgate – 6 with 12:24 left in 1st Half
Michigan State adds to its lead with another three-pointer, this time being the first points of Trey Fort’s career as a Spartan.
MSU – 8, Colgate – 3 with 15:57 left in 1st Half
Michigan State is in the midst of a 8-0 run as we hit the first media timeout of this game. Kohler added a three-pointer to bump up the Spartans lead heading into the first timeout.
Fears scores first bucket of season for Spartans
Fears hits a leaner for the Spartans first bucket of the season. That is followed up a by a three-pointer from Teng to put the Spartans ahead 5-3 early into this game.
Tipoff is almost here
Tipoff is right around the corner — here’s a nice photo from Solari of the Breslin Center a few minutes before action begins between Michigan State and Colgate:
Starters for tonight’s game
Michigan State will be rolling with the same starting five that they sent out for their two preseason exhibition games: Jeremy Fears Jr., Kur Teng, Coen Carr, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper. Per a post from Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press, Spartans head coach Tom Izzo announced this same starting five during his pregame radio interview.
Tipoff is about 20 minutes away from the Breslin Center.
Broadcast Info
Date / Tip Time: Monday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. ET
TV: Big Ten Plus (streaming only)
Game Prediction
Prediction: Michigan State 81, Colgate 62
Colgate has been one of the top teams in the Patriot League for the last few seasons so I don’t anticipate this one being a blowout from the jump. But eventually the Spartans’ talent advantage will be the difference and lead to Michigan State pulling away in the second half. Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr and Jaxon Kohler all reach double-digits in points to help the Spartans open the season with a convincing victory.
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Michigan State men’s basketball beats Colgate in season-opener: Highlights
Reporting by Robert Bondy, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
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