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The Huskies host potentially the best team in the country coming off their 1st loss of the year

How to Watch (and bet)

Date: Saturday, 1/17/26

Tip-Off Time: 3:00 pm PT

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Huskies Gameday App, Sports Radio KJR

Location: Seattle, Washington

Betting Line: Washington Huskies +3.5

Michigan State Spartans 2025-26 Statistics:

Record: 15-2 (5-1)

Points For per Game: 79.0 (105th)

Points Against per Game: 64.2 (11th)

Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 118.3 (58th)

Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 90.3 (2nd)

Strength of Schedule: 19th

Michigan State Key Players:

G- Jeremy Fears, So. 6’2, 190:12.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 8.8 apg, 42.3% FG, 27.1% 3pt, 88.6% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +9.4 BPR (7th nationally)

Fears looked like a star as a true freshman but was injured before conference play started and missed the rest of the season. He was the starting point guard for MSU last year and finished 8th nationally in assist rate but took a bit of a back seat to Jase Richardson who emerged as the team leader and was a lottery pick. This year Fears has gone supernova and is leading the country in assist rate with a total that would be the highest in D-1 since Ja Morant in 2019 if it kept up. And he’s done it while cutting down on turnovers. Fears still struggles to shoot from the outside (1/17 from 3 in B1G play) but is right up there as the most dynamic passer in the sport.

G- Kur Teng, So. 6’5, 200: 7.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.2 apg, 39.0% FG, 36.1% 3pt, 85.7% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +4.3 BPR (300th nationally)

Michigan State signed Kaleb Glenn in the portal to fill this role but he was hurt in the offseason and will miss the whole season. Teng barely played last year and now is being asked to be the 5th/6th man on the roster. Most of his shots have been from 3-point range where he’s slightly above average yet Teng somehow is leading Michigan State in the percentage of shots taken while on the court. So he’s going to put shots up even if he’s one of the least efficient scorers among MSU’s major rotation pieces.

F- Coen Carr, Sr. 6’6, 230: 11.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.4 apg, 48.3% FG, 18.2% 3pt, 62.3% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +5.2 BPR (178th nationally)

Carr has achieved notoriety in part because he’s one of the best in-game dunkers in the sport. His game has steadily progressed year over year and he has tried to add a perimeter jumper to his arsenal but the results aren’t good for MSU. He’s just 1/12 from deep in B1G play so far. Washington under Danny Sprinkle has been willing to leave guys like that open and dare them to shoot. It backfired against Indiana when their worst shooters just couldn’t miss so we’ll see if UW does it again. When Carr does take it to the hoop he usually either makes it or gets fouled.

F- Jaxon Kohler, Sr, 6’10, 245: 14.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 0.9 bpg, 56.3% FG, 51.6% 3pt, 86.1% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +7.6 BPR (38th nationally)

Kohler was one of the best best rebounders in the sport last season and his rates are almost identical once again this year as a walking double-double. He’s a good but not great rim protector but has really taken steps forward this year as a scorer. He’s shooting career bests on 2-pointers, 3-pointers, and from the free throw line. Coming into this season Kohler had 19 career made 3-pointers and already this season that number is up to 33 on over 50% shooting. This will be a tough matchup for Hannes Steinbach.

C- Carson Cooper, Sr. 6’11, 245: 10.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 55.4% FG, 73.8% FT

Evanmiya.com Stats: +4.5 BPR (251st nationally)

There are a lot of similarities between Kohler and Cooper except that Cooper can’t step out and hit a perimeter shot. His rebounding rates aren’t quite as good as Kohler’s but they’re close to MSU always has at least one very good rebounder and decent shot blocker on the court at all times. He’s phenomenal at drawing fouls with a free throw rate over 70% each of his four seasons in college and is #20 nationally in that stat so far this year. This will be tough for Franck Kepnang to battle and keep on the court against Cooper.

The Outlook

There were plenty of skeptics out there who wondered whether the game might have passed Tom Izzo by over the last few years. We saw the old guard of legends like Coach K, Roy Williams, Tony Bennett, and Jay Wright retire after deciding against adjusting to the new NIL era. Izzo went four consecutive seasons finishing with a near .500 record in the Big Ten and 13+ losses between 2021-2024 while never advancing past the Sweet 16. The Huskies would gladly take a season like that but it was a clear step down for Izzo.

Then came last season when the Spartans suddenly surged behind star freshman Jase Richardson and earned a #2 seed plus a trip to the Elite Eight. The roster certainly made it seem that a step back was coming since Michigan State lost Richardson and didn’t really add much of note in the transfer portal. Yet here they are again with the #2 defense in the country and only a pair of losses by single digits to fellow top-15 teams.

The clear reason behind Michigan State’s sustained success is their rebounding. The Spartans dominate teams on the glass and are 1st in defensive rebounding rate while also ranking 6th in offensive rebounding rate. They play nearly 40% of the game with Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper together who each are among the top 50-100 overall rebounders in the country. Washington of course isn’t too shabby in that regard with Hannes Steinbach a similar level rebounder to Kohler and Kepnang not that far behind Cooper. The big difference is the rest of the roster as MSU’s wings and backup bigs are a cut above Washington’s in that regard. Still, there’s a chance for Washington to mostly hold serve here if Steinbach can stay on the court.

Michigan State’s other secret sauce when it comes to defense is that they don’t allow opponents into the paint. The Spartans are 351st in opponent three-point rate as nearly half of their opponents’ shots come from behind the arc. Some of those shots may be open but opponents are only making just over 30% of their shots which is good for top-50 nationally. If you just want to sit there and bomb it from the outside, Michigan State will still contest those shots but they’ll be happy to let you do that and hoover up the long rebounds.

Washington of course is not well served by turning the game into a three-point shooting contest. The Huskies will certainly try to find openings on the interior but Michigan State is 13th nationally in block rate and 27th in opposing two-point rate so there haven’t been many teams that have navigated that space successfully. Expect to see a lot of pull up mid-range jumpers or awkward blocked shots/turnovers when Wesley Yates or Zoom Diallo delve a little too deeply without a backup plan.

Michigan State hasn’t allowed more than 20 made two-point shots against them all season and only once allowed more than 17 makes. The Huskies have had 18+ two-point makes in 15 of 17 games so far this season with the only exceptions being the two games in Palm Springs when Hannes Steinbach didn’t play. If Michigan State doesn’t give up a new season high there then UW has no shot.

Where Michigan State has bigger struggles is on the offensive end. They do almost nothing in isolation which isn’t a surprise given the passing prowess of Jeremy Fears. Michigan State is 2nd in assist rate as a team to go along with Fears ranking 1st in that stat individually. The strength on that end is the aforementioned offensive rebounding and they’re merely good not great elsewhere. The extra passing is prone to causing turnovers and the Huskies have to turn those opportunities into fastbreak points given the strength of Sparty’s halfcourt defense. They also will settle for pull up jumpers a little too often which brings down the shooting splits. But against all but the most elite opposition they’ve been able to muster enough offense to get the job done.

Washington kept things competitive for about 35 minutes against Michigan given their now almost completely healthy roster. If a few foul calls had gone their way instead of Michigan’s then it might have been a one-possession game entering the stretch run. A slightly better offensive performance from deep given some extra continuity and a little bit better officiating luck and it’s not a stretch to see the Huskies pull off the upset. A win here would give UW a legitimate shot of envisioning a run to the NCAA tournament.

I need to see Danny Sprinkle and Washington win a game like this though first before I’m going to pick it.