Michigan State’s comeback falls short, loses 67-63 to UConn

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans center Carson Cooper (15) and forward Jaxon Kohler (0) attempt to get a loose ball against the UConn Huskies in the second half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images After Jaxon Kohler kicked the game off with a layup, UConn would start with back-to-back threes and took a 8-4 lead heading into the first TV timeout. Things would look bad early for Michigan State as they would miss ten straight field goals.

UConn was on a 12-1 run until Trey Fort was fouled and hit a free throw to stop the bleeding. Tom Izzo was forced to call a timeout with MSU down 18-6. Coming out of that timeout, UConn would find an open attempt from the corner to hit another three – they knocked down five of their first six attempts from deep.

Michigan State’s offense, on the other hand, looked absolutely pitiful. By the second TV timeout, they had gone eight straight minutes without a field goal. There was some bad shot selection of long midrange attempts and MSU missed all four of their three-pointers.

You’ll never believe this, but UConn again hit a three coming out of a timeout. It wasn’t until under the nine-minute mark that a Kohler layup was MSU’s first make in almost 10 minutes. It looked like a high school freshman team scrimmaging the varsity as UConn held a 27-12 lead with seven minutes left.