Jeremy Fears Jr. runs Michigan State past No. 2 Duke 79-73 in the Champions Classic

No. 5 Michigan State beat No. 2 Duke 79-73 on Tuesday night at the United Center, and Duke never led. Jeremy Fears Jr. finished with 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, and the Spartans moved to 3-0.

It was Michigan State's first win over Duke since a 75-69 game on Dec. 1, 2020, according to the Associated Press. Duke has gone 11-3 against Michigan State since 2010, ESPN reported, and Tom Izzo made a point of apologizing to Spartans fans for how lopsided the series had become.

How Fears ran the game

Fears lived at the free-throw line. He made 12 of 17 there while shooting 3 of 9 from the field, according to the ESPN box score, and he had eight assists by halftime. He scored only three points in the first half and 15 in the second.

ESPN Research said he is the second Division I player in the last five seasons with at least 15 points, five rebounds and 10 assists against a top-five team. Last season against Duke he went 0 for 10 from the field.

"He plays with amazing control over the game, and it's hard to stop a guy if you give him 17 free throws," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said.

The defense did the rest

Jordan Scott, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, had nine rebounds, six blocks and two steals. Duke shot 20 of 60 from the field (33.3%), went 7 of 29 from 3-point range and turned it over 13 times. Its 26% shooting in the first half was the lowest of Scheyer's tenure, per ESPN Research.

Cam Ward added 14 points for Michigan State. John Blackwell led Duke with 17, and Patrick Ngongba II had 11 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four blocks. Duke got within 73-68 on two Caleb Foster free throws with 2:03 left, but Scott answered with a driving layup and Fears closed it at the line.

Scheyer called it "a little bit [of an] out-of-body experience" and said, "That wasn't Duke basketball."

What's next

Michigan State hosts Northern Iowa on Friday. Duke hosts SIU Edwardsville on Friday, then plays three top-five teams in three weeks: Illinois on Nov. 17, UConn on Nov. 25 in Las Vegas and Florida on Dec. 1.