Florida Atlantic Owls at Michigan State Spartans

Coen Carr has 17 points, 8 rebounds to lead No. 20 Michigan State past Florida Atlantic 86-69

The Spartans (10-2) have won five straight and eight of nine.

The Owls (7-6) had won three straight, averaging 87-plus points in those games.

Florida Atlantic’s Tre Carroll scored 24 points and Baba Miller had 12.

Michigan State got off to a rough start and the Owls took advantage, leading for four-plus minutes before Carr made a pair of crowd-pleasing dunks.

Carr shot 7 of 9, including a 3-pointer, and made both of his free throws in a performance that surpassed his previous career highs in points and rebounds set in a win over then-No. 12 North Carolina last month at the Maui Invitational.

Jeremy Fears and Jaden Akins scored 13 points apiece and Frankie Fidler scored eight of his 10 points in the first half for the Spartans.

Takeaways Florida Atlantic: First-year coach John Jakus, hired to replace Dusty May when he left for Michigan, can take positives from the closely contested start of the game.

Michigan State: Carr's dunks add desperately needed energy for a team that has emotional lulls.

Key moment Carr made a tiebreaking dunk with 6:45 left in the first half, sparking a 22-9 run.

Key stat Fears had eight assists and one turnover, directing the offense with nearly flawless play.

Up next Michigan State hosts Dwayne Stephens-led Western Michigan on Dec. 30. Stephens played for the Spartans and was on Izzo's coaching staff for 19 seasons before being hired in 2022. Florida Atlantic hosts No. 21 Memphis on Jan. 2 in its American Athletic Conference opener.

How can I watch Florida Atlantic vs. Michigan State?

• TV Channel: Florida Atlantic at Michigan State 2021 College Basketball, week 7, is broadcasted on FS1.
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