Michigan State keeps winning games and drawing eyeballs.
The No. 11 Spartans (7-0) rolled to a 74-58 win against No. 16 North Carolina (6-1) on Thursday to close the Fort Myers Tip-Off in a matchup that drew 5.49 million viewers on FOX as the most-watched college basketball game ever on the network, it was announced Friday.
The Thanksgiving matchup that followed the Packers beating the Lions peaked at 13.41 million viewers. That figure is a 6 percent increase from FOX’s last Thanksgiving college hoops game, a Michigan State loss against Arizona in 2023 during the Acrisure Classic in California.
Jeremy Fears posted a career-high 19 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Spartans on Thursday while Carson Cooper scored 14, Cam Ward had 11 and Jaxon Kohler added 10. They’re off to their longest undefeated start in a decade and open Big Ten play against Iowa (7-0) on Tuesday at the Breslin Center before hosting No. 4 Duke (8-0) on Dec. 6.