Officials review Jeremy Fears Jr collision with Illinois player, leave as no call
Just days after Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. received a boatload of backlash for a handful of ‘non-basketball plays’ in the Spartans’ game against Minnesota, Fears Jr. was involved in a collision with Illinois forward David Mirkovic.
As both players jogged down the floor, Fears Jr. stopped on a dime while Mirkovic tripped on his foot and fell to the ground. Officials reviewed the play, but left it as a no-call.
Prior to tip-off against the Illini, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo revealed that Fears Jr. would not be facing a suspension or any punishment for his actions. He stated that Fears is ‘remorseful’ for his actions in the game, and he is ‘comfortable’ with how the program is handling it. However, another incident could warrant a suspension for the third-year guard, per Izzo.
Tom Izzo said Fears needed to ‘grow up a little bit’ following Minnesota game
Izzo was not happy with Fears’ actions in the game against Minnesota.
“I sat him for a while, and I don’t even know if I’m gonna start in the next game,” Izzo said immediately after the loss to Minnesota. “But I stuck up for him, too, because of what happened in the last game. I’ll just say what happened in the last game; the way that was handled was poorly, too. And so that starts everything, but Jeremy’s got to grow up a little bit, but at least he played harder. I’m worried about my other (three) guys not playing hard enough.”
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Fears Jr., averaging 14.7 points and 8.9 assists per game, is much needed on the court for Michigan State. Sophomore guard Divine Ugochukwu, who had played in 22 of 23 games this season, was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury. In his first season in East Lansing, the Miami transfer was averaging 5.1 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 rebounds per game.
As the disappointing news of Ugochukwu’s injury emerged, Michigan State is riding a two-game losing streak for the first time this season. The Spartans dropped their rivalry game at home against No. 3 Michigan 83-71 last Friday night, and were upset by Minnesota on Wednesday.