In terms of early season victories, there won’t be many bigger than Michigan State’s on Tuesday night in Chicago. Tom Izzo’s crew set the tone for the rest of the conference to follow as November continues. 

Spartan Statement: Michigan State Downs Duke 

It’s called the Champions Classic for a reason, and on Tuesday at the United Center, Michigan State showed the heart of a champion from start to finish. Leading from wire-to-wire, the No. 5 Spartans defeated No. 2 Duke 79-73 for a marquee non-conference win. 

Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year Jeremy Fears Jr., who grew up 35 miles from Chicago in Joliet, headlined a Spartans performance defined by grit and intensity, tallying 18 points and 11 assists. He was joined in double digits by Cam Ward and Jasiah Jervis with 14 and 10, respectively. 

Michigan State excelled on the defensive side of the floor, holding the Blue Devils to a 33% field goal percentage on 20-for-60 shooting and 24% from three-point range while forcing 13 turnovers. The Spartans had eight blocked shots on the night, six of those coming from Jordan Scott.  

SPARTAN. DEFENSE. ?? Make it 6?? blocks on the day for Jordan Scott ?? @espn https://t.co/OrPdhckxEr

— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) November 11, 2026

In the final minutes, after Duke closed the gap to 73-68, a Scott layup and Fears free throws put the game away. The win was the Spartans' highest-ranked victory since Mar. 2021 against No. 2 Michigan and highest regular season non-conference triumph since 2013 against Kentucky in the Champions Classic. Read more from the Spartans. 

More From Week 2 

The Spartans led the way, but some other notable moments stood out. 

• No. 3 Illinois nearly erased a 22-point deficit against No. 19 Texas Tech in Lubbock. Freshman Quentin Coleman led the team with 19 points, shooting 5-for-6 from deep, in an 84-78 loss. 

• No. 9 UCLA registered the biggest margin of victory in its storied history with a 106-37 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Nikola Kusturica had 17 points to lead the Bruins in scoring for the second straight game, while Trent Perry had his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 assists to lead six players in double figures.
• Markus Burton’s 20 points helped Indiana defeat Syracuse 83-80 in Indianapolis. 

• Bobby Durkin’s three-pointer as time expired propelled Minnesota over Cincinnati 63-61. Kyan Evans had 26 points and 10 rebounds in the win. 

BOBBY DURKIN ???? #TeamTogether https://t.co/hdxvCigEzq

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) November 10, 2026

The weekend features some non-conference matchups worth highlighting: 

• Ohio State heads to Hartford to take on No. 4 UConn, last season’s runner-up to Michigan. 

• After a tough loss to Georgetown, Maryland plays host to another East Coast foe in No. 6 Virginia. 

• Washington travels to Salt Lake City to play Utah as the Huskies look to keep their undefeated record. 

• In a Midwest matchup, Iowa meets Creighton at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines. Cooper Koch leads the Hawkeyes after scoring 26 in an overtime loss to Virginia Tech. 

Check out the full schedule.