Jeremy Fears Jr. did not miss a shot in the first half, and the rest of Tom Izzo’s team kept firing from the perimeter. The Spartans beat the Northern Iowa Panthers 106-72 at the Breslin Center on Friday night, and the Michigan State three-point record fell along the way.

The Michigan State Three-Point Record Falls On 18 Makes

Michigan State made 18 threes on 37 attempts, breaking the school record of 17 that the Spartans set against Purdue in 2014 and matched against Rutgers in 2016, per the Associated Press. Freshman guard Julius Avent hit the record-setting 18th in the final minute. Seven different players made at least one three, and two guards accounted for half the makes: Jasiah Jervis hit five and Fears Jr. made four.

The Good: Jeremy Fears Jr. Near Perfect Leading MSU

Fears Jr. led the Spartans with 24 points while going six for seven from the field. He tied his career high with four threes, matching a mark he set against UCLA last season. He also dished nine assists without a turnover, his first game this season without one. He did most of his work before halftime, scoring 19 of those 24 points and going a perfect five-for-five from the field.

Jasiah Jervis Is Fears Jr.’s Scoring Partner

Fears Jr.’s backcourt partner wasn’t far behind. Jasiah Jervis had 20 points and made a career-high five threes. He was also active on the boards, grabbing five rebounds, two of them on the offensive end. Jervis has been a big part of the Spartans’ scoring plan despite being a freshman; he has scored in double figures in three of the first four games of the season.

Jordan Scott Finds His Three-Point Stroke

Against Duke, Jordan Scott had a defensive master class but struggled to find his shooting form. He had six blocks and scored just five points on two-for-seven shooting. Against Northern Iowa, he scored 11 and went three-for-five from beyond the arc. Scott played only 17 minutes and spent part of the second half on the bench with ice on his right shoulder. Izzo and the program have not announced an injury.

Jordan Scott with ice on his right shoulder. pic.twitter.com/tLs6IQVAAA

— Emmett Matasovsky (@E_Matasovsky57) November 14, 2026

The Bad: Anton Bonke Had Little Impact

Earlier this week, Tom Izzo remained critical of his center rotation, and Friday was no different. Center Anton Bonke made his fourth straight start of the season but played just seven minutes, his lowest in a game so far. In his limited action, he didn’t make much of an impact, scoring zero points and grabbing zero rebounds. Instead, he had two blocks, three turnovers, and three fouls. Instead of Bonke, Izzo went with forward Jesse McCulloch, who played 16 minutes, and center Ethan Taylor, who played nine minutes.

The Intriguing: The Referees Called Everything

Some might have thought there were a lot of whistles in last week’s win over Toledo, where 49 fouls were called, but Friday surpassed that. The officials called 61 fouls, 26 against the Spartans and 35 against the Panthers, and the two teams combined for 69 free-throw attempts. Six Northern Iowa players finished with four or more fouls, and two fouled out: forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu and forward Ian Smikle, who picked up five in just eight minutes. Izzo worked the officials all night, leaving the sideline at one point to argue a foul on Fears Jr. that he thought should have been a travel, the Associated Press reported.

Tom Izzo and his squad now need to rest and prepare for a much bigger test, when they travel to Tennessee to take on the No. 11 Volunteers on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.

Source: Yahoo Sports