'Screw Being Tired': The mental grit powering Michigan State’s Sweet 16 surge
After a grueling six-month season, the Spartans aren't leaning on excuses. Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and Coen Carr break down their mentality heading into a heavyweight matchup with UConn.
The No. 3-seeded Michigan State men's basketball team is preparing to face the No. 2-seeded Connecticut Huskies at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. this Friday at approximately 9:45 p.m. Eastern Time (CBS). The matchup is part of the East Regional (Sweet 16) for the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
For MSU, it is a chance for redemption after suffering a 76-69 preseason loss to UConn in Hartford, Connecticut on Oct. 28, 2025. While the first matchup was an exhibition game that does not count in the official record books, Friday's meeting means everything — with an Elite Eight appearance on the line.
150 Days of Transformation
When Michigan State and Connecticut last shared a court on Oct. 28, both teams were in very different places. It was a whistle-heavy exhibition in Hartford, a game defined more by 74 free-throw attempts and a disjointed pace than by tactical flow. As mentioned, UConn walked away with the victory, but as the No. 3-seed Spartans prepare to face the No. 2-seed Huskies at Capital One Arena this Friday, the history books from that night have been effectively burned.
The context of that October matchup was almost experimental. Both teams were testing deep rotations, playing through foul trouble and figuring out their identities. Friday’s game will mark 150 days since that exhibition — almost a lifetime in the world of college basketball.
“To think that these are the same two teams going out there in D.C. would be ludicrous,” senior center Carson Cooper said on Monday. “A lot can change over 150 days. We’ve grown up, we’ve been through the Big Ten gauntlet and we know exactly who we are now.”
