Carr and Fears lead Michigan State to 17th Sweet 16 under Izzo

Michigan State Advances to Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Coen Carr achieved his first double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Jeremy Fears Jr. contributed 16 assists as Michigan State moved on to the Sweet 16 under coach Tom Izzo for the 17th time. The team defeated Louisville 77-69 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Fears also scored 12 points, despite only making 3 out of 13 shots. However, his precise passing was instrumental for Michigan State. As the country’s leader in assists, Fears became the first Big Ten player to record 10 or more assists in each of the first two games of an NCAA tourney. In their first-round victory over North Dakota State, he had contributed 11 assists.

In a historical comparison, Magic Johnson achieved double-digit assists in four NCAA Tournament games during the Spartans’ successful run to the 1979 national title, before assists were officially tracked.

Michigan State, seeded third, will face the winner between UConn and UCLA in the East Region semifinals on Friday night in Washington.

Coen Carr, a 6-foot-6 high-jumping junior forward, saw his first double-digit rebounds and came only one point shy of his highest scoring game. Trey Fort added 12 points coming off the bench, while Jaxon Kohler contributed 10 points to the team’s victory.

On the other side, Ryan Conwell led No. 6 seed Louisville with 21 points, and Adrian Wooley scored 17. Louisville was aiming for their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2015, when they reached the Elite Eight under Rick Pitino.

Michigan State managed to secure a 10-point lead with a 17-5 spurt, eventually defeating Louisville with Cooper’s 3-pointer midway through the first half. Despite some attempts from Louisville to narrow the gap, they were unable to tie the score.