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Michigan State basketball proves it can stay cool, calm after stressful start

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Michigan State basketball proves it can stay cool, calm after stressful start


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  • Michigan State, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, overcame a slow start to defeat Bryant 87-62.
  • Sophomore forward Coen Carr led the Spartans with 18 points and several highlight-reel dunks.
  • Carr’s performance was crucial in countering Bryant’s athleticism and preventing an early upset.

CLEVELAND — For a while, it looked like it might be one of those games.

Tom Izzo knows them well. The underdog comes out with its hair on fire. An uppercut here. A body blow there.  

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A couple 3-pointers. A few blocks. And halfway through the first half, the underdog has the lead, as Bryant did over Michigan State. 

Remember when MSU began the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed in 2016?

Of course you do. And for a moment, the Middle Tennessee vibes were pulsating.  

It had been a minute since the Spartans entered the postseason with such a high seed, and with this much expectation. It feels different.

And it felt different here at Rocket Arena. 

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MSU showed its nerves — and its youth — in particular spots.

The Spartans were amped to start — overamped, truthfully — and when Jase Richardson barely hit the rim on his first two shots, you could see the freshman guard was struggling to catch his breath. 

Bryant scored the first five points. The Spartans missed their first four shots — and their first free throw. It wasn’t until Jaden Akins, the senior, got to the free throw line that Spartans scored.  

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He followed with a 3-pointer. And as he ran down the court, he pushed his palms down near MSU’s bench, motioning everyone to calm down, that everything would be fine. 

Eventually, it was, as MSU beat Bryant, 87-62, to advance to the second round, where it will play New Mexico here Sunday.

Pushed around?

“I thought we got pushed around a little bit in the first half,” Izzo said. “And maybe that was me. I don’t know. But we did a better job the second half.”

Punched in the mouth, he called it. And for a coach who has built his program to take the swings, it was hard to watch the beginning.

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Then Akins hit the shot to settle things. From there, Coen Carr catapulted the Spartans. The sophomore forward played the game of his life. He ran the floor, as he always does, and dunked. He rebounded, too. Mostly, he supercharged MSU.

“It was infectious,” Izzo said.

Not to mention critical.  

Bryant is long on the perimeter and tough everywhere. And unlike so many teams reluctant to crash the offensive glass because of the Spartans’ lethal fastbreak, the Bulldogs were fearless there, too.  

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their athleticism may not have surprised the Spartans, but it bothered them — especially early — and forced the Spartans to swarm the defensive glass as well, keeping them from running.

Points were a struggle early — except for Carr, who finished with a game-high 18. 

He hit a pull-up from the left elbow midway through the first half. On the next possession, he laid it up after a balletic spin. And when he got to the free throw line after getting the chance at a three-point play, he knocked it down — a relief, considering his normally reliable teammates were misfiring from the line.

Twice, he soared in for offensive rebounds. Each time, he rose up and dunked the putbacks off two feet, single-handedly keeping the upset vibes at bay. 

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“I wasn’t going to let my team lose today,” Carr said. “I just tried to play as hard as I can, tried to get every rebound I can and just make the most of my opportunities out there.”

He started the second half in place of Szymon Zapala, only coming out to take a brief rest. It was his game. His athleticism countered the Spartans’ 15th-seeded opponent. Or at least helped to match it.  

His game was made for the matchup — and for the moment.

Because he doesn’t live on the perimeter, where nerves can get in the way, he was free to unleash his otherworldly hops and quickness.

Izzo has been waiting for him to attack the boards like this, and to play defense like this. 

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“Coen ignited us on offense, especially when things (weren’t) going our way,” teammate Jeremy Fears Jr. said. “He was a big piece in getting this win today and helping us pull away.”

Not, technically, his first rodeo

This was not Carr’s first time under the NCAA tournament spotlight.

But he didn’t get this kind of run a year ago as MSU fell in the second round. He took advantage of the opportunity. 

Where Richardson and Fears, and even Jaxon Kohler, took a bit to find their footing — and slow their heart rates — Carr channeled his extra juice into a season-saving night. Kohler was so nervous and jacked up, he couldn’t find his rebounding rhythm — or his normal feel for the ball on the block.

As for Carson Cooper?

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Izzo didn’t lean on him early, then spent time kneeling next to him on the bench. Bryant’s front line outmuscled and outmaneuvered MSU’s bigs. Kohler and Cooper knew it was coming, but needed a minute to adjust.

Carr gave them those minutes to figure things out.

Maybe they win without his breakout turn, but not likely.

Izzo refused to acknowledge his team walked off the floor with more teachable moments. He wants his team to be past that by now.

It’s tournament time. The “my bad” excuse doesn’t work this time of year, as he likes to say.

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“There should be no eye openers, I don’t think,” Izzo said. “We’ll talk about that tonight when we get back (to the hotel). It wasn’t looking real good there, and I think if (Bryant) would have kept close, (with) the way those three guys could shoot it, I wouldn’t have liked for that thing to come down to the nitty-gritty, and I think our team will learn that.”

He wanted a better, cleaner start — and who can blame him?

His team may not have overwhelming talent, but it has thrived all season within its relatively small margin for error. Look at the way these Spartans closed the Big Ten regular season.

“We know what it’s like to show up every night, and we’ll have to do better,” he said.

To make a run, they’ll have to.

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To make a run, they’ll have to survive the occasional fits and spurts — and to do that, someone will have to lift the group. Carr did that Friday night, making sure MSU’s postseason didn’t end almost as soon as it started.

This is how it has been for these Spartans all season: If one side of the floor gets a little sticky, someone on the other side gasses it. 

Sunday, against New Mexico, it may be someone else. Or it may be someone else and Carr again.

Because what he did, he can duplicate.

Energy is like that — and he is proving to have an unlimited supply.  

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Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.





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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing

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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing


One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week. 

“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters. 

“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”

Urban Meyer reacted to the fallout of Sherrone Moore’s shock firing from Michigan. Getty Images
The former Michigan football coach was fired for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a. staffer. AP

That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

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The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.

Sherrone Moore was charged on Friday with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors. AP

On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.


Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore


Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.

“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.

Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.

Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.

Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.

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Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.

The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.

Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.

Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.

Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.

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Up next

Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.

Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools


GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.

The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.

The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.

The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.

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Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.

The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.

The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.

This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.

The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.

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On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.

The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.

West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.

On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.

Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”

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On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.

“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.

Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.

Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.

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Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.

He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.



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