We Speak Men's College Basketball

Jeremy Fears Jr. Runs the Show as Michigan State Takes Down No. 2 Duke 79-73

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

Jeremy Fears Jr. of Michigan State. Photo by Nick King, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Jeremy Fears Jr. had the ball, the plan and the final say all night. The Michigan State point guard posted 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds as the No. 5 Spartans led wire to wire in a 79-73 win over No. 2 Duke at the United Center in Chicago on Tuesday night in the Champions Classic.

Fears controlled the flow from the opening tip. He scored a game-high 18 points in 33 minutes, living at the free throw line with 17 attempts and making 12 of them, and he carved Duke up in the middle ball screen all game. Every time the Blue Devils threatened, the ball was in his hands and the Spartans settled back into control. Michigan State never trailed, improved to 3-0, and handed a deep, talented Duke team its first loss of the season.

Duke’s own coach said it plainly afterward. “Congrats to Michigan State. They 100% deserved to win. I thought they outcompeted us. They played more together. (Jeremy) Fears controlled the whole game,” Jon Scheyer said.

Fears spread the credit around his locker room. He pointed to sophomore Jordan Scott, who stuffed the box score with nine rebounds, six blocked shots and five points as the defensive engine of the night. “Jordan is the x-factor for us,” Fears said. He also lit up talking about freshman guard Jasiah Jervis, who added 10 points. “I’m glad [Jervis] is on our squad,” Fears said with a grin.

Cam Ward gave Michigan State 14 points and six rebounds, and head coach Tom Izzo credited his two leaders afterward. “These two guys (Jeremy Fears and Cam Ward) were really good,” Izzo said. John Blackwell led Duke with 17 points and Patrick Ngongba II added 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but the night belonged to the floor general. Fears, the CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year, played like it on the biggest stage November offers.

HBCU Hoops Recap: Tennessee State Pushes No. 11 Tennessee to the Wire as Ty-Laur Johnson Drops 22 on Friday Night

Published

1 day ago

November 14, 2026

We Speak Media

Southern University women's basketball player dribbling against two Texas Southern defenders during a SWAC game

Friday night started with the HBCUs, and the HBCUs nearly stole the whole night. Tennessee State walked into Knoxville and pushed the No. 11 team in the country to the final minutes, Texas Southern got a career-high 30 points from Karris Bilal, Southern’s women ran away by 45 in Baton Rouge, and Delaware State closed out a win in Dover with an 11-0 run. Here is the full HBCU rundown from Friday, November 13, followed by the rest of the national night, where Kentucky survived at the buzzer and Georgia won at North Carolina.

HBCU Men

No. 11 Tennessee 83, Tennessee State 78. Tennessee State nearly pulled off the stunner of the young season in Knoxville. Ty-Laur Johnson led all scorers with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Tigers (2-2), who trailed by 15 in the second half, cut the margin to 73-66 with 3:38 left and got no closer than five. Tennessee State outrebounded Tennessee 45-43 and won the paint 30-24, but the Volunteers (3-0) held on behind Terrence Hill Jr., who finished with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists. Jayden Jones added 13 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee State.

No. 22 Vanderbilt 89, Prairie View A&M 62. Prairie View A&M ran into a hot Vanderbilt team in Nashville. Elijah Mitchell scored 15 points and Anthony Gause added 13 for the Panthers (2-3), who were outrebounded 44-19. Ace Glass III led the Commodores (4-0) with 19 points, and Chandler Bing added a career-high 15.

Murray State 99, Texas Southern 78. Texas Southern got a career night in defeat at Murray State. Karris Bilal scored a career-high 30 points for the Tigers (1-3), who trailed 50-38 at halftime. Murray State improved to 4-0.

Liberty 74, North Carolina Central 66. North Carolina Central outrebounded Liberty 33-32, a first for the Eagles this season, but fell in Lynchburg. Cristian Sanon led North Carolina Central with 14 points, Tyler Mason added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Darius Kane handed out a team-high seven assists. Eli Sancomb led Liberty with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

HBCU Women

Southern 93, Louisiana Christian 48. Southern rolled at the F.G. Clark Activity Center, leading 49-18 at halftime and piling up 66 points in the paint, 46 bench points and 32 points off turnovers while committing only four turnovers of its own. Jocelyn Tate (12 points, seven rebounds), DeMya Porter (12 points) and Taniya Lawson (12 points) led a balanced attack for the Jaguars (1-3), and Zaria Hurston added 11 points in Southern’s first win of the season.

Delaware State 72, American 63. Delaware State closed the game on a roll in Dover. The Hornets (2-3) trailed 47-46 after three quarters, then outscored American 26-16 in the fourth behind an 11-0 run. Skylah Kemp led Delaware State with 18 points and five rebounds, Anise Geiger scored 12, and Maya McCorkle added 10 points and six rebounds.

UMBC 85, Morgan State 50. Morgan State fell in the 410 Invitational opener in Baltimore. Mihjae Hayes posted a game-high 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Bears (1-4), and freshman Dru Carolton added 12 points off the bench. Heidi Williams led UMBC (4-0) with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

Around the Country

No. 24 Kentucky 78, Northern Arizona 77. Kentucky survived a scare in Lexington. Alex Wilkins, who finished with 14 points, hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2.1 seconds left after Northern Arizona missed the front end of a one-and-one. Chris Komin led the Lumberjacks (0-4) with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and the Wildcats improved to 3-1.

No. 1 Florida 83, Merrimack 54. Alex Condon scored 16 points and Thomas Haugh added 15 as the top-ranked Gators (4-0) rolled in Gainesville. Florida made 21 of its 22 free throws, while Merrimack attempted just two. AJ Lesburt Jr. led Merrimack with 16 points.

No. 2 Duke 90, SIU Edwardsville 47. Patrick Ngongba filled the box score for Duke with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and five blocks, and Cayden Boozer added 11 points and a career-best 10 rebounds as six Blue Devils scored in double figures in Durham.

No. 3 Illinois 108, Sam Houston 86. Tomislav Ivisic drilled six 3-pointers on his way to a career-best 28 points for Illinois (3-1), and Andrej Stojakovic added 26 in Champaign. Justin Begg had 19 points and 10 assists for Sam Houston.

No. 4 UConn 84, Ohio State 68. Braylon Mullins scored 22 points with five 3-pointers and Na’jai Hines added a career-high 20 as UConn (4-0) surged in the second half in Hartford. Silas Demary Jr. had 10 points and nine assists for the Huskies.

No. 5 Michigan State 106, Northern Iowa 72. Jeremy Fears Jr. scored 24 points and dished out nine assists, freshman Jasiah Jervis added 20, and Michigan State (4-0) set a school record with 18 made 3-pointers in East Lansing.

No. 6 Virginia 87, Maryland 83. Virginia erased a double-digit halftime deficit in College Park behind a career-high 28 points from Sam Lewis, who shot 12 of 16 from the field. Thijs De Ridder added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers (5-0). Pharrel Payne led Maryland with 20 points.

Georgia 78, North Carolina 70. Georgia went into the Dean Smith Center and handed North Carolina its first loss of the season. Kanon Catchings posted 22 points and a career-high 11 rebounds with five 3-pointers, Blue Cain scored 20, and the Bulldogs (4-0) closed the game on a 10-2 run after a 68-68 tie. Terrence Brown led the Tar Heels with 21 points.

No. 12 Arizona 80, Auburn 69. Arizona ended Auburn’s long home nonconference winning streak at Neville Arena. Freshman Caleb Holt, an Alabama native, scored 24 points with nine rebounds and five steals for the Wildcats, and Ivan Kharchenkov added 19 points. Thomas Dowd led Auburn with 15.

No. 17 Miami 94, North Alabama 52. Miami set program records with 13 made 3-pointers in the first half and 20 for the game in Coral Gables. Brent Bland hit eight 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points for the Hurricanes, and Nick Dorn added 18.

No. 18 Alabama 82, Seton Hall 76. Amari Allen carried Alabama with 24 points and five assists in Tuscaloosa, and Aden Holloway scored 18 as the Crimson Tide (4-0) handed Seton Hall its first loss. Ilay Dolinski led the Pirates with 15 points off the bench.

No. 19 Arkansas 79, Central Arkansas 66. Billy Richmond III scored a season-high 21 points with nine rebounds for Arkansas (3-1), which saw an 18-point lead cut to six before pulling away in Fayetteville. Harry Beauchamp led Central Arkansas with 14 points.

Georgetown 85, Clemson 78. Georgetown built a 19-point first-half lead at Littlejohn Coliseum and held off Clemson’s rally. Jaland Lowe led the Hoyas with 21 points and six assists, and Vince Iwuchukwu posted 20 points and 10 rebounds. Ace Buckner scored 20 points for Clemson.

Virginia Tech 82, Mount St. Mary’s 62. Amani Hansberry scored 20 points and Tobi Lawal added 16 as Virginia Tech pulled away in Blacksburg.

George Washington 85, Harvard 57. Omari Witherspoon scored 16 points to lead George Washington, and Rafael Castro added 12 points and seven assists in the rout of Harvard.