Cook heads to the line after being fouled by Cooper before the timeout, hitting both free throws to tie the game again. Akins airballs the floater, leading to a transition bucket from Bamba as the Ducks take their first lead of the game. Akins makes up for it with a big three, then after a defensive stop he cuts to the basket in transition for the easy layup. Coen Carr misses the lob dunk as Jackson Shelstad takes advantage in transition with a layup, but Fears answers with a jumper. Bittle comes off the bench and immediately hits a deep three, but again MSU counters as Holloman gets the lucky bounce on a jumpshot. Angel drives on Zapata and gets the layup, plus the foul as we go to timeout. (7:35)
Oregon answers with run of its own, Spartans still up 15-13
Tre Holloman is called for the offensive foul after the timeout, then Brandon Angel makes a layup for Oregon. The Ducks follow that up with a Keeshawn Barthelemy made 3-pointer, currently going on a 9-2 run. Holloman answers with a floater, then Bittle hits a jumper to keep the back-and-forth between these two teams going. Richardson is fouled by Angel and again splits his free throws as MSU is up 13-11. Jadrian Tracy gets inside and hits a hook shot to tie the game, but on the other hand Carson Cooper gets an offensive rebound and layup to break the tie. Supreme Cook is called for a travel, but Oregon gets a stop as a foul on MSU is called and we go to timeout. (11:48)
MSU starts game on an 8-0 run, taken early 10-4 lead
(Start of game) Michigan State gets the first points of the game as Jaxon Kohler hits the open three, then Jase Richardson gets fouled after a steal as he splits the free throws. Richardson misses a layup but Szymon Zapala is right there for the putback layup. Another miss from the Ducks leads to a Jeremy Fears jumper as the Spartans open up an 8-0 run. Nate Bittle gets Oregon on the board with a dunk, then TJ Bamba hits a transition layup to cut the lead in half. Jaden Akins gets the floater to go, as a timeout is called after an Oregon turnover. (15:38)
Preview
Michigan State looks to start March tournament play strong, beginning Friday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal against No. 23 Oregon.
No. 7 MSU earned their double-bye and the top seed in the tournament by winning the conference, capping off their 2025 regular season with a dominant 79-62 victory over rival Michigan last Sunday. It was the 11th Big Ten title for Tom Izzo, who also recently earned his fourth Big Ten Coach of the Year award.
The Spartans look to win their first Big Ten Tournament championship since 2019, the same year where they also last reached the NCAA Tournament Final Four. They have yet to make it back to the the Big Ten Tournament finals since winning it, with only one semifinals appearance in 2022.
More: Tom Izzo takes Adam Nightingale under his wing as Michigan State teams take flight
Meanwhile, Oregon enters as the eighth seed in the tournament, with all eight of their losses coming in conference play. Michigan State won the first match-up in February, coming back from a 14-point halftime deficit and needing all of Jase Richardson’s career-high 29 points to do so.
Follow along here for live updates from Detroit News contributor Kameron Goodwill.
Big Ten Tournament
No. 1 SEED MICHIGAN STATE VS. No. 8 SEED OREGON
▶ Tipoff: Noon, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
▶ TV/radio: Big Ten Network/760-AM
▶ Records: Michigan State is 26-5; Oregon is 24-8
▶ Last meeting: Michigan State won, 86-74, on Feb. 8, 2025, in East Lansing.
