Michigan
Priority Elite Jonathan Smith, MSU Football Target Evaluated
Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith made a living at Oregon State by recruiting the West Coast heavily, which is no surprise. The state of California alone might just be the deepest of them all when it comes to talent.
While the Sun Belt and the football mecca of Texas boast some of the best of the best, California has the most. Playing football all 12 months does wonders for a player’s development.
It is no surprise that for the 2026 recruiting cycle, California leads the amount of Spartans’ offers with 39 players offered.
One player that the Spartans’ will consider a priority is J Serra Catholic edge rusher Simote Katoanga, one of the best in the entire class. Katoanga is a four-star prospect per 247Sports and the No. 11 edge rusher in the class.
Nationally, Katoanga is the 104th overall player. In the football-rich state of California, he is just the 18th-best player. There is a lot to like about Katoanga. For one, he boasts a grown man’s frame — 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds.
The rest is best described by 247Sports’ Greg Biggins, national recruiting analyst. He recently evaluated Katoanga.
“Katoanga is an intriguing defensive line prospect with a very high ceiling,” Biggins wrote. “He played primarily as an edge rusher as a sophomore but has the frame to bulk up and move inside at the college level. He’s all of 6-5, 250 pounds with an 80-inch wingspan and we can see him packing on another 40 pounds or so with ease and not losing any of his natural athleticism. He’s a high motor player who’s relentless pursuing the football. He shows some pass rush ability coming off the edge or as a tackle and is physical in run support.
“He can take on blocks, hold his ground and still get a push up the field. Right now, he has shown more potential than on-field production but the traits are there and he looks set to have a breakout junior season in the fall.”
I spoke with Katoanga during the summer. He told me he liked the West Coast pipeline that Smith and Co. are working to maintain.
“What stood out to me the most is like, you know, he used to go to Oregon State and he’s from the West Coast,” Katoanga said. “He’s trying to bring the [Polynesian] pipeline to Michigan State.”
Michael France is Sports Illustrated’s Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Michigan
Duke Makes Statement With Win Over Michigan
The No. 3-ranked Duke Blue Devils improved to 25-2 overall on the 2025-26 campaign following a massive 68-63 victory in Washington, D.C. over No. 1 Michigan. In a matchup between arguably the top two teams in the sport this season, the Blue Devils have now cemented a signature win.
Entering the contest between the two heavyweight contenders, it felt like whichever team came out on top would become the new No. 1 team in practically every computer metric and the new No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25. Michigan and Duke came into the game rated as the top two teams in the NCAA NET Rankings and at KenPom, respectively.
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Duke came into the contest on a three-game win streak, winning those games by an average margin of 22 points. As for the Wolverines, they were winners of 11 in a row, most recently coming off a 91-80 win at Mackey Arena over No. 7 Purdue on Tuesday night.
The Blue Devils put together what could very well be their best defensive performance of the entire season so far, as they controlled the paint and limited the Wolverines’ opportunities inside as a whole.
Yaxel Lendeborg, who is in the conversation to be the second-best player in college basketball besides Duke freshman superstar Cameron Boozer, went for a game-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks on 7-of-15 (46.7%) shooting from the field.
Dusty May’s club did a solid job limiting Boozer in the scoring column relative to his normal production, which was somewhat expected given the length that the Wolverines boast down low. Boozer finished the contest with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists on 6-of-10 (60%) shooting from the floor.
Cameron Boozer’s Passing on Full Display Against Michigan
Michigan contained Boozer as a scorer inside the paint, but the National Player of the Year frontrunner showed how heavily he can impact the game in every way. Boozer was two assists short of his career high and was extremely effective when he drew multiple defenders into the paint.
The Blue Devils assisted on 17 of their 25 made field goals.
Duke will now likely move to the top spot in the AP Poll and become the top projected overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Duke is now 11-2 in Quadrant 1 games, 17-2 across the first two quadrants, and 9-2 against ranked opponents this season.
Stay tuned to Duke Blue Devils On SI for more Duke basketball news.
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Michigan
Michigan State, its stars looking for next gear to wrap Big Ten play
East Lansing — There are four things that 27 straight NCAA Tournament berths have taught Michigan State coach Tom Izzo
- Don’t take it for granted
- Play your best basketball at the end of the year
- Defend to win
- Don’t turn the ball over
There are still five games to get through — including Sunday’s Breslin Center tilt with Ohio State — before Izzo notches his 28th NCAA Tournament bid. His 15th-ranked Spartans are all but in at this point. If anything, that makes these next few games crunch time. These are the weeks that Michigan State wants to shift to the next gear needed for elimination basketball, an opportunity presented by this current two-game homestand.
“What helps is to be focused in at this time of year,” Izzo said Friday after practice. “It gets to be a long year, you know. It’s long for you guys. Definitely long for the officials. It’s definitely long for the head coaches. And so staying focused on the task at hand is still almost as important as anything. But rest is one of those parts that helps you.”
Michigan State (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) shrugged off a skid of three losses in four games with a resounding 82-59 win at Breslin Center on Tuesday. The captains found their groove, including more excellence from Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr. Defense carried a 26-3 run in the first half including an 18-0 run nested inside it. Shots that hadn’t fallen all year went through the hoop for a season-high 14 3s.
The homestand continues Tuesday against an Ohio State (17-9, 9-6) team that is trying to jockey for NCAA Tournament seeding, with current ESPN projections listing a 70% chance Jake Diebler’s squad will make it in. The group is led by physical guard Bruce Thornton — an increasingly rare career Buckeye — with complementary pieces in John Mobley Jr. and Devin Royal. The Buckeyes’ 49.0% field goal percentage ranks 28th in Division I, while a 3-point defense allowing just 30.9% ranks 41st. It will be a tough matchup, but not unlike others in similar stature the Spartans have handled this season such as Iowa, UCLA and Indiana.
As much as Michigan State still wants to see a win on the scoreboard after Sunday’s game, what it really wants to see is progress. The kind of postseason form that Izzo usually gets out of his best teams in the home stretch. There are a few areas he wants to see particular improvements, particularly with respect to turnovers.
“I went back and looked at all the teams this week in the top 25,” Izzo said. “There’s some teams now, I think Houston is like six or seven (turnovers). When you’re that ridiculously low, teams that are high — and we’re one of them — taking it down a little bit, we’re one of them. I think that’s gotta be cleaned up or it could be a problem in the Tournament, because every possession matters.”
Individually, there are some players who want to take steps, too. Edging his way out of a month-long slump with a big first-half burst against UCLA, forward Jaxon Kohler is figuring out how to work with the double-team looks that teams have thrown at him all season. The floor-stretching senior says it’s a matter of respect to him to face those kinds of looks. It only serves to open up a teammate when he gets swarmed.
“If they want to double team me, that’s their choice,” Kohler said. “I mean, it’s physical, but that’s my role on this team is to be the physical guy, you know, the dirty work guy. And even though it is taxing at some point, like I said earlier, it’s a mental battle. You have to convince yourself that I’m not fatigued, I’m not taxed. This is what I do every day, and this is how I play the game, and it’s competitive.”
That mental battle can have big implications on games in March.
“If they want to try to be more physical than me or try to push me harder, then I’m gonna push them harder, you know,” Kohler continued. “I’m gonna raise my game. I’m gonna raise my stakes. And at this point of the year, you have to kind of find another gear to push yourself toward to make sure that you can out-tough them.”
Michigan State will need everything it can get out of Kohler when the games come with no guarantees. Just when he has made progress in one area of his game, he has to take more steps. It actually excited him, he says, to know the clear progression of where his game can expand.
“That’s the next step to my game, I feel like, is if the shot isn’t quite there, what do I do from there?” Kohler said. “… I understand too, that I’m not gonna go crazy right now and start doing things that no one’s ever seen. But … if I have a chance to develop a good pump fake, one-two shot, mid-range shot, I’m going to work on that, because I know teams are going to be closed down really heavy.”
For Fears — whose All-Big Ten and player of the year candidacy took some hits when a few temperamental plays caught scorn from the public and Michigan coach Dusty May — there’s another level to claim, too. He’s been lightning most of this season, leading the country with 9.3 assists and averaging 15.1 points per game on top of that. Yet teams have lived with his 3-point shooting all season, which he made UCLA pay for with a career high four 3-pointers.
“We all have a goal. We all have a thing we’re trying to do. And in order for that, you have to be utmost focused,” Fears said. “Put in extra time and do everything ‘why not?’ You know, you’re guaranteed a month and a half of this season left. So why not lay it all out there and try to string together some games and be playing your best basketball as a team?
Where the Spartans go in March, Fears will lead them. That’s an expectation for all parties in East Lansing.
If there is a next gear for this team, part of it may have to do with communication. For most of the season, Izzo has been looking for certain players — especially his shooting guards — to find their voices. That’s an ongoing process, but an important one.
“We’ve still gotta grow in that area,” Izzo said. “We’re growing in a lot of areas. We’ve had a good couple of days. What does that mean? We’ll see.”
Ohio State at No. 15 Michigan State
▶ Tipoff: 1 p.m. Sunday, Breslin Center, East Lansing
▶ Records: Michigan State is 21-5, 11-4 Big Ten. Ohio State is 17-9, 9-6
▶ TV/radio: CBS/760
▶ Outlook: Ohio State needs a win like this to further cement its NCAA Tournament status in what would be Jake Diebler’s first appearance in his third year on the job. Michigan State is jockeying for position behind rival Michigan in the Big Ten standings, also looking to bolster its March Madness resume, currently projected to be a No. 4 seed.
cearegood@detroitnews.com
@ConnorEaregood
Michigan
Michigan business owner reacts to Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s tariffs
The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a major defeat on Friday, striking down most of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs.
The high court ruled that the president does not have the authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 emergency powers law he used to levy taxes on nearly all U.S. global trading partners. Mr. Trump said the court’s decision was “deeply disappointing,” and announced he will impose a 10% global tariff.
He also criticized the six Supreme Court justices who struck down his sweeping tariff policy, including two justices he nominated during his first term.
“I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” he said.
Meanwhile, some Michigan businesses, including one that has a lawsuit against the president, approved of the court’s decision.
“It’s a sigh of relief, not only for myself but for the American consumer, for the American businesses,” said Mike Musheinesh, CEO of auto parts company Detroit Axle.
Musheinesh said the Supreme Court’s decision could result in millions of dollars returning to his Michigan-based business, and a win for all consumers who were paying higher prices because of these tariffs.
“[In] 2025, we had an increase in revenue by 35% and a drop in profitability by 80% just to put everything in context because the consumer could not eat the whole increase, so we had to cause we’re in this together,” Musheinesh told CBS News Detroit.
Musheinesh said that Friday’s ruling also opens the door for his company’s separate lawsuit against the Trump administration to move forward.
“So everyone knows our legal system still works, and our constitution still takes the precedent over any sitting president,” he said.
Former Ford engineer Don Ufford, who is now running for Michigan’s 11th congressional district as a Democrat, said it’s wrong that Congress hasn’t stood up to Mr. Trump, especially because the constitution explicitly grants Congress authority to regulate trade and impose tariffs.
“Thank goodness somebody finally stood up against Trump. You know, there was a promise it was going to help, but you know what happened, people are now paying on average $1,000 more than they were last year,” said Ufford.
The Supreme Court did not address whether, or how, companies that collectively paid billions in tariffs can get their money refunded. Mr. Trump said it could take years to litigate any refunds.
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