Michigan State Dominates Second Half To Defeat Oregon

It was a tale of two halves in Eugene on Tuesday night, as the No. 10 Michigan State Spartans found their offensive rhythm and stifled the shorthanded Oregon Ducks, earning a decisive 68-52 victory at Matthew Knight Arena. The win, powered by a career night from senior center Carson Cooper and timely shooting from junior forward Coen Carr, extended Michigan State’s winning streak to five games and pushed their record to an impressive 17-2 overall and 7-1 in Big Ten play. For the Ducks, the loss marked their fifth straight defeat, dropping them to 8-11 overall and 1-7 in conference action.

Heading into the contest, the two programs couldn’t have been on more divergent paths. Michigan State was fresh off a win over the Huskies in Seattle, riding high and looking to sweep their West Coast swing. Oregon, meanwhile, was desperate to halt a four-game skid, and their chances looked even slimmer without injured stars Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad. Things only got tougher when big man Ege Demir left the game in the second half with a shoulder injury, further depleting the Ducks’ already thin rotation.

The Spartans wasted little time imposing their will, jumping out to a quick 13-4 lead behind Cooper’s early presence in the paint and Carr’s hot hand from deep. Coen Carr, who finished with 15 points and eight rebounds, knocked down a career-best three three-pointers, forcing Oregon to respect his perimeter game. Michigan State’s defense, meanwhile, switched everything on the perimeter, neutralizing Oregon’s small-ball attack and making life difficult for the Ducks’ guards.

Despite the early surge, Oregon clawed their way back into the game, largely on the back of Takai Simpkins. The sophomore guard poured in 10 of his 15 points in the first half, connecting on 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and grabbing seven rebounds for the night. Oregon managed to force more fouls and turnovers than Michigan State in the opening period, and their defensive energy kept the Ducks within striking distance. At halftime, the Spartans held a narrow 28-26 lead, but the stat sheet told a different story: Michigan State dominated the glass 20-13 and held an 8-2 edge in fastbreak points.

“I thought our activity in the first half was really good,” Oregon head coach Dana Altman said. “We had the tempo where we wanted it, we could run with them. That defense gets down on the other end, we have to get connected better. We made a lot of mistakes defensively in the second half and they took advantage of all of them.”

Oregon’s hopes of an upset began to unravel early in the second half. Michigan State came out firing, shooting a blistering 68% from the field after the break and outscoring the Ducks 40-26. Cooper was the catalyst, scoring a career-high 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, pulling down seven rebounds, and swatting away four shots. His dominance inside was complemented by the steady play of Jeremy Fears Jr., who added 14 points and a game-high five assists, and the timely shooting of Trey Fort, who chipped in nine points off the bench to help the Spartans pull away.

“I didn’t think we looked tired; I thought we looked out of sync,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said after the game. He acknowledged that early offensive struggles affected the team’s defense, but was quick to credit Oregon’s effort, especially given their injury woes. “If I took out my two best players, my two leading scorers... I thought those guys bounced back and played well against Michigan and then played well against us. That’s a lot to overcome. I thought those guys played their tails off. They played hard, and they played well.”

The turning point came midway through the second half, when Michigan State embarked on a devastating 18-3 run, fueled by Carr’s slashing drives, Cooper’s work in the paint, and a pair of clutch jumpers from Fort. Oregon, hampered by two scoreless stretches of three minutes each, simply couldn’t keep pace. The Spartans’ defense clamped down, holding the Ducks to just 7-of-20 shooting from three-point range and offering little room to operate inside.

“Our margin for error is small and we can’t make those mistakes,” Altman lamented. “As soon as they got a lead, they started freeing up and moving the ball and shot much better. We needed to keep the pressure on them by keeping the score close.”

For Oregon, the loss was another tough blow in a season already defined by adversity. With Bittle and Shelstad sidelined and Demir joining them on the injury report, the Ducks were forced to rely heavily on Simpkins and a patchwork rotation. No other Duck managed to reach double figures, and the team’s offensive inconsistencies were laid bare by Michigan State’s suffocating defense.

Michigan State, on the other hand, showcased the depth and versatility that have made them a force in the Big Ten. In addition to Cooper and Carr’s exploits, Fears Jr. bounced back from a rough first half to score 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting after halftime, adding four assists. The Spartans’ bench, led by Fort, provided a crucial spark, and the team finished with a 31-25 rebounding advantage despite Oregon’s best efforts to pack the paint and slow the game down.

The victory sets up a marquee matchup for Michigan State, as the Spartans return home to face Maryland at the Breslin Center on Saturday, January 24, with the game airing live on CBS at noon. A win would match last season’s 18-2 start and further cement the Spartans’ status as one of the nation’s elite teams. For Oregon, the road doesn’t get any easier, with a trip to Seattle to face the Huskies looming on Sunday afternoon.

As the final buzzer sounded in Eugene, it was clear that Michigan State had found another gear, while Oregon was left searching for answers amid a rash of injuries and mounting losses. Still, as Tom Izzo reminded everyone in his postgame remarks, there’s plenty of fight left in the Ducks. “Hang in there with this guy (Dana Altman), those two injuries, ugh, they are big.”

For now, the Spartans are rolling, and the Ducks are regrouping. The Big Ten grind rolls on, with both teams looking to write the next chapter in a season full of twists and turns.