Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was assessed a dead-ball technical foul Today for kicking Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau in the groin, the latest in a string of similar incidents this season.
Jeremy Fears Jr. did it again. The Michigan State guard was assessed a dead-ball technical foul in the first half of Today’s game against Michigan at Crisler Center after lifting his leg and making contact with Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau’s groin area at the 14:24 mark of the first half. Officials reviewed the play, originally ruled a defensive foul on Cadeau, before upgrading it to a technical.
Yaxel Lendeborg went to the free throw line and converted both attempts, giving Michigan a 12-7 lead during what had become a 9-0 run. Michigan led No. 8 Michigan State 42-41 at halftime, with No. 3 Michigan narrowly ahead in a game between two top-10 programs.
A pattern that has followed Fears all season
Today’s incident was not the first time Fears has been at the center of this kind of controversy in 2026. The season’s trouble began in the first Michigan State and Michigan rivalry game on Jan. 30, when Michigan coach Dusty May publicly called out Fears for plays he described as dangerous, including one where Fears appeared to trip Lendeborg. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo pushed back on May’s remarks, saying May should call him directly if he had concerns, while acknowledging he had spoken to Fears about some of his actions.
On Feb. 2, May made his concerns public. On Feb. 4, Fears received a technical foul for kicking Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds in the groin during a game that Michigan State lost 76-73. On Feb. 7, a questionable foot movement by Fears caused an Illinois player to trip, though officials took no action after a review.
Today’s kick to Cadeau marked at least the second time this season He has been penalized for groin contact, raising questions that Izzo addressed during a timeout interview with CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson. Izzo said the increased scrutiny on Fears was a product of what had happened earlier in the season and that every play involving his guard was now under a microscope. He said he had told Fears not to do anything that could be questioned.
Who Fears is and what makes his story complicated
The controversy surrounding Him exists alongside a season of genuine excellence. The redshirt sophomore is averaging 15.3 points and a nation-best 9.1 assists per game for Michigan State, which entered Sunday at 24-5 and 15-4 in Big Ten play.
His path to this season was anything but straightforward. In December 2023, during his freshman year, Fears was shot in the leg in his hometown of Joliet, Illinois. He missed the remainder of that season and was granted a redshirt year. The experience shaped how he approaches the game, and he has spoken openly about what it means to compete after having basketball taken away from him.
Fears said after the Minnesota loss that he does not take a single possession for granted and that his intensity comes from a place most people would not fully understand. He said he does not intentionally try to hurt anyone and that playing hard at all times is simply who he is.
What happens next matters for Michigan State
Dusty May’s comment to CBS reporter Tracy Wolfson during a first-half timeout captured where the conversation has landed publicly. He said he would like a basketball game to break out at some point, a pointed remark from a coach who has now watched his team play Michigan State twice this season with Fears on the court.
Michigan State enters the final weeks of the regular season as one of the Big Ten’s top teams. Whether the league or the program takes additional steps to address Fears’s physical play remains to be seen. His talent is not in question. Neither, at this point, is the pattern.