A roundup of first-day action at the for Michigan State and North Carolina at the 2025 Fort Myers Tip-Off on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.
Michigan State 89, East Carolina 56
Michigan State cruised past East Carolina behind a textbook defensive effort from the Spartans.
Michigan State shot 50 percent from the field, 46 percent from behind the arc, and led for over 38 minutes of the contest. And it all came from the stifling defense the Spartans have come to be known for.
“…I thought all of our bigs (played with toughness),” said Spartan head coach Tom Izzo. “That is the culture of our program, and it’ll be tested on Thursday (against North Carolina), that’s for sure.”
Michigan State set the tone right after tip, forcing a tough mid-range at the end of the shot clock that was blocked, a shot clock violation, and then an errant pass out of bounds on the Pirates’ first three possessions.
The Spartans tallied 31 points off of 24 Pirate turnovers in the win. While a few of ECU’s giveaways were unforced, most came from Michigan State’s ability to force the Pirates deep into the shot clock and make uncomfortable decisions. Plenty more came from pressure in transition.
Michigan State took advantage of the miscues while dissecting the Pirates’ different zone looks. The Spartans worked the ball to the elbow and the corners for wide-open 3-pointers. Michigan State finished the game 13-of-28 from three-point land.
The Spartans blew the game open before the end of the first half. With three minutes to play and the Pirate offense faltering, Michigan State forced back-to-back steals that led to a corner triple and transition layup and extended to a 7-0 run in 45 seconds. The Spartan lead ballooned to 41-19, and the gap never shrunk after that.
“It’s a good feeling,” Jaxon Kohler said. “Because sometimes the shots go in, other times it’s kind of hard to get in the flow… We’ve got guys hitting a lot of threes, we keep working on our confidence with that three-ball.”
The Spartans controlled the paint for all 40 minutes, blocking eight shots and while tallying 36 points in the paint on the other side of the ball. Carson Cooper put up an efficient 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting with 8 boards, one steal, and one block. Kohler posted a team-high 16 points after going 4-of-4 from deep, and tacked on 8 boards, two blocks and two steals. Jess McCullough was impressive in his 14 minutes off the bench, tallying two blocks and a steal.
“There’s no doubt about it, the stat sheet says what it does as far their post players and our post players,” said East Carolina head coach Michael Schwartz. “But there’s no doubt that they fought… They really banged in there, and that’s a national championship-caliber team and front court that Michigan State has.”
Divine Ugochukwu added 16 points and two steals of his own for the Spartans in 20 minutes on 6-of-7 shooting and hitting 3-of-4 triples. Coen Carr finished with 13 points after going 5-of-11 from the floor with four boards and three assists. Jeremiah Fears Jr. dished out nine assists with six points in 24 minutes.
“That was definitely Divine’s best game both offensively and defensively,” Izzo said. “He’s just got to keep working.”
North Carolina 85, St. Bonaventure 70
No. 17 North Carolina survived St. Bonaventure by simply flipping the script in the second half.
The Bonnies gave the Tarheels all sorts of issues in the first half. They forced 11 turnovers in the first half, won the offensive rebound battle, and forced North Carolina to play at their pace. From the turnovers, to staying alive in the rebound battle despite a clear size disadvantage, to their shot making, to their team defense – St. Bonaventure looked like a team that could play with North Carolina.
And then suddenly, they didn’t.
After trading the lead for the back end of the first half, the Tarheels grabbed the game with both hands and put a stop to what was at one point a highly competitive game. North Carolina used their overwhelming size and strength advantage to muscle their way into the paint, which resulted in easy looks at the rack or free throws.
The Tarheels shot 53-percent from the floor as a team and 40-percent from behind the arc in the second half.
“I thought we were much stronger and handled the physicality much better in the second half,” said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis. “…I felt around the rim we were dunking everything, either finishing strong or a dunk, or got fouled and went to the free throw line. So I felt like we handled the physicality much better in the second half.”
North Carolina tallied 22 points in the paint (including 11 second chance points), and made 14 free throws in a row in the second half. Tarheel big man Henri Veesar punished the undersized Bonnies, and went for a game-high 24 points, 12 boards, and a pair of steals.
Star wing Caleb Wilson attacked the paint often, and finished with 20 points after going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. He tacked on 12 boards to the winning effort.
The Tarheels did a poor job of taking care of the ball in the first half, then flipped a switch in the second half. After 11 giveaways in the first 20 minutes, North Carolina finished the game with 13 turnovers.
“Beginning of the second half, we came out a little bit tentative,” said St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. “We had a hard time rebounding the ball. Their two big guys, whatever they had – 44 (points) and 25 (rebounds), they’re really good. It’s hard to guard those guys. But I thought our guys hung in there… I thought we did a decent job against a really talented and well-coached team.”
Bonnie guard Darryl Simmons II rose to the challenge against North Carolina’s talented back court, and finished with 22 points on 9-of-16. Frank Mitchell battled down low for St. Bonaventure and went for 18 points on 9-of-18 shooting with six boards, a block, and a steal.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Michigan State, North Carolina notch wins in 2025 Fort Myers Tip-Off
Reporting by Nick Wilson, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
