Should There Be Concern Surrounding MSU's Fears' Recent Lack of Production?

As the Michigan State Spartans continue to struggle, so does redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr.

Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans On SI

The Michigan State Spartans' slow start to the month continued with their loss to Indiana on Tuesday. In the team's last four games, MSU has been able to walk out with just one victory. Now, after losing grip of first place in the Big Ten standings, the Spartans, as a whole, will need to piece things back together.

Senior guard Jaden Akins has been the best shooter on the squad, but as we have learned recently, he can't do it all. With freshman guard Jase Richardson continuing to step up to help Akins, has MSU's other young guard started to fade into the background?

Redshirt freshman guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has been hot and cold throughout his 2024-25 campaign. Unfortunately for both the program and Fears, he is riding one rather cold streak. In MSU's loss to the Hoosier, Fears was more of a hindrance than a help.

Fears played in 19 minutes in the loss and missed both of the field goal shots he attempted. While he did collect two rebounds and two assists, it is crucial in closer games that every player does their part on the scoring end, something Fears was unable to do.

Over Fears' last three appearances, he has averaged 6 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals. He did not play in the game against the Oregon Ducks due to an illness, that game being the last that MSU was victorious in.

Fears does lead the program in average assists and steals per game. He has been vital to the Spartans' improvement from last season, but something as of late has given him a cold hand. Fears is five for his last 13 field goal attempts, which gives him just a 38.5% success rate.

As the Spartans look to chip away in the standings to get back to the top of the Big Ten, Fears will need to find his confidence again sooner rather than later. If his contributions don't improve over MSU's tough upcoming stretch, Coach Tom Izzo may have to shake up the starting five again.

Perhaps Fears' latest outing can merely be attributed to his transitioning back into the flow of things after missing the Oregon game. We'll see how he answers on Saturday when the Spartans take on Illinois.

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