EAST LANSING — Unlike its tougher-than-expected previous test, Michigan State basketball made sure to take care of its business early.
And the ninth-ranked Spartans thoroughly and diligently dispatched Toledo with ease, 92-69, on Tuesday, Dec. 16. Even if it was far from a work of perfection.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJaxon Kohler had his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while three other players scored in double figures for MSU (10-1). Kur Teng hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, while Jeremy Fears Jr. had 15 points and eight assists despite going just 4-for-11 from the field.
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Coen Carr added 14 points and four rebounds but had four turnovers. Carson Cooper and Jesse McCulloch combined for 15 points and 17 rebounds as the Spartans finished with a 54-25 advantage on the boards, a 40-16 edge in paint points and a 36-16 scoring differential on the fastbreak.
Sonny Wilson, a junior from U-D Jesuit, had 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead Toledo (5-6). MSU held the Rockets to just 35.9% shooting.
Michigan State's Jaxon Kohler scores against Toledo during the first half on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.Starting strong
Divine Ugochukwu – coming off a career-high 23 points at Penn State – started his second straight game at shooting guard and went scoreless in the first half. The sophomore finished with just two points on 1-for-2 shooting in 17 minutes, while the rest of MSU’s lineup picked up the scoring to put the game away early.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementTeng, the Spartans’ first reserve, replaced Ugochukwu 2:44 into the game and hit all three of his 3-point attempts in the first half. His first was part of an 11-4 opening salvo that gave MSU the lead for good, and his two 3s late in the half were part of an 11-0 closing run that sent the Spartans into halftime with a comfortable 58-28 lead.
Fears had 10 points, including a runner through contact just before the halftime buzzer, and added six assists. The Spartans had 15 assists on their 21 made baskets while shooting 53.8% from the field.
Michigan State's Kur Teng, left, makes a 3-pointer as Toledo's Will James Jr. defends during the first half on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.Persistent problems
The Spartans opened by going 7-for-15 from 3-point range in the first half, with Kohler going 2-for-3 on 3s as part of his 14-point, 11-rebound first half. However, he finished 6-for-12 shooting as MSU’s struggles around the basket continued after going 11-of-33 on layup attempts in a loss to Duke and win at Penn State.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFears and Carr also both missed layup attempts in the first half against the Rockets as the Spartans were officially 8-for-13 on layups before the break, though MSU’s stats crew counted several attempts in the paint as jumpers.
In the second half, Carr – relatively passive in the win at Penn State – took care of some of those issues by attacking the basket with his usual ferocity.
Michigan State's Coen Carr scores on a layup against Toledo during the first half on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.His first dunk came after a high-rising block from behind to thwart a Toledo fastbreak, with Carr quickly shifting back the other direction and cutting under the basket to post up. Fears fed him the ball, Carr put it on the floor, made a spin move and quick-leaped for a two-hand rim-rattler. Carr’s second was more traditional, collecting another pass from Fears in transition and unleashing a left-handed tomahawk dunk through contact from the Rockets’ Sean Craig and finishing the three-point play.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWith a win all but completed, MSU started getting sloppy late. The Spartans committed nine of their 15 turnovers in the second half after having a season-worst 17 giveaways against the Nittany Lions.
But MSU continued to sizzle from outside, going 10-for-23 from deep (43.5%). And in the last minute, 6-8 redshirt freshman twins Colin and Brennan Walton – walk-on from Okemos – hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the final margin. It was the first college basket for Colin and second for Brennan.
What’s next for Michigan State basketball
The Spartans get a chance to sharpen some of their deficiencies with multi-practice days before facing Oakland at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network). The Golden Grizzlies (5-6) play at Northern Kentucky on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+) and have never beaten MSU in 23 attempts, including the Spartans' 77-58 win last year in Detroit. Izzo’s teams are 6-1 at Little Caesars Arena since it opened in 2017.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementContact Chris Solari: [email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball trounces Toledo, 92-69, behind Jaxon Kohler
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