Jeremy Fears Jr.’s 26-15 performance lifts Michigan State amid fresh controversy

Jeremy Fears Jr. made history but didn’t make any new friends in Big Ten country Saturday. The Michigan State point guard etched himself in Spartan lore with a 26-point, 15-assist showing to help No. 10 MSU outlast No. 5 Illinois 85-82 in an overtime thriller.

For a program that has housed legendary point guards like Magic and Cleaves and Cassius and Valentine, it’s Fears who will stand alone as the first Michigan State player ever to notch multiple 15-dime games. 

He’s done it in the last two weeks, the same 14-day span where Fears has turned into a legitimate All-American contender and one of college basketball’s biggest villains after numerous acts that span between reckless, shady and downright dirty. 

Fears attempted to trip Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg on Jan. 30 in a move that Wolverines coach Dusty May dubbed intentional. He kicked Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds in the groin in Michigan State’s 76-73 loss in a move that earned him a technical, a tongue-lashing from Tom Izzo and a warning that he might not even start against Illinois. 

But on gameday, Fears was back in the starting five and involved in another controversy. Fears drew 14 fouls, but it was a play that didn’t earn a whistle that had Illinois’ bench riled up. Fears appeared to trip Illini big man David Mirkovic on a runout in the open floor, but after review, it was not upgraded to a flagrant foul.

“There was nothing on the trip, they looked at it,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said in the postgame press conference. “It’s always going to be a judgmental thing. He stops. It’s what he does. But yeah, he was terrific. We didn’t do a very good job of squaring him up. He plays with great speed and pace. I was disappointed in the fact that we fouled him that much. He’s not a very good shooter, and we wanted him to have to shoot the ball in even if it was a layup. He’s crafty, he’s smart and did a nice job tonight.”

This saga feels far from over, but one thing is clear: Fears’ debt to his team has been repaid.

His actions against Minnesota objectively cost his team the game, but the Spartans don’t beat the big, bad Illini without him. 

“To be honest, it was kind of rough,” Fears told Fox in a postgame, on-court interview. “That’s not my character. That’s not who I am. I want to be able to help my team. I wasn’t able to help my team in the last few games. I wanted to help my team get the win today. No matter what.”

Fears scored 22 of his 26 after halftime, including a remarkable 11 points in overtime. Illinois battled brilliantly in the Breslin Center until the very last second, showing it has what it takes to be heard from in the chase for a Big Ten Championship and a Final Four, but it could not defend without fouling in the final moments. For Fears, drawing fouls is an art of sorts, even if it drives the opposition into a tizzy (or to another swig from the bottle). 

Fears told CBS Sports at Big Ten Media Days that he studies the rulebook intently, trying to understand and/or uncover any tricks of the trade that will get him to the free throw line. He shot 13 more free throws in Saturday’s victory, bringing his season total to a whopping 148. It’s the fifth time this season that Fears has double-digit attempts from the charity stripe, and no Big Ten player is drawing more fouls per 40 minutes than Fears (7.2), according to KenPom.com

“This team has confidence in each other; we’ve played bad, we got controversy, distractions,” Izzo said. “The best way to stick ahead is avoid dirtbags and distractions.”

Let the bobbing and weaving begin even more because the microscope on Fears isn’t going away.

Somewhere, in another life, Fears just toed the free-throw line yet again.

Cash.