The first major test of the 2025-26 basketball season came early for No. 22 Michigan State, bringing in No. 14 Arkansas for a highly anticipated tilt inside of the Breslin Center. It wasn’t easy, or pretty, but in the end, the Spartans reigned victorious, 69-66.
A physical game from start to finish, this was a heavyweight fight. The game never saw a team lead by more than single digits, this was close from the opening tip to the final whistle.
Despite only shooting 7.1-percent from three point land, the Spartans made their way inside of the paint, scoring 46 of their points inside. Furthermore, the Spartans held a 45-33 rebound advantage that included 19 offensive boards.
Check out the highlights and updates from Saturday night’s showdown
True freshman Cam Ward had his coming out party in this high profile matchup, scoring 18 points and adding 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Coen Carr was his normal self scoring 15 points, while Jaxon Kohler was the other player in double figures with 10 points.
All in all, it was the type of punch you in the mouth type of game Tom Izzo and the Spartans love, and they were able to find themselves on top of it when final bell rang.
Michigan State will be back in action next Thursday when they play host to San Jose State at 6:30 p.m. inside of the Breslin Center.
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