MSU Shocks College Park, Holloman Swishes Halfcourt Heave

**Xfinity Center-College Park, MD**

First, Maryland tied the game, then Tre Holloman couldn’t make anything with their possession and threw an iffy pass to Jaxon Kohler who missed a short shot. It appeared MSU would potentially lose the game. Then Ja’Kobi Gillespie missed a 3-pointer after securing the rebound…. but left almost 3 seconds on the clock and that was all the time Tre Holloman needed to redeem himself. Shades of Cassius Winston hitting 1H buzzer beater a few years ago and Korie Lucious nailing a game-winning 3-pointer in the 2010 NCAA tournament came flooding to the forefront as the Spartans watched Holloman’s 60-foot heave, short of the Maryland logo, swish through the net and stun the Maryland crowd while the Spartan faithful, celebrated harder than when the final buzzer sounded in Ann Arbor last Friday.

As nothing-but-net as it comes 🎯

Check out all the replays of Tre Holloman’s crazy @MSU_Basketball buzzer-beater 👇#B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/ui7F5nxxJa

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 27, 2025

MSU was carried once-again by freshman phenom Jase Richardson who buoyed the offense in the first half, finishing with 15 points (6-14 FGs, 3-3 FTs, 0-3 3-pt) and 8 rebounds in 34 minutes. Tre Holloman’s game-winner tallied 9 points on a paltry 3-12 FG with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal/block in 20 minutes. All 10 Spartans who entered, scored which is the 17th time this season for MSU. Maryland was lead by the trio of Rodney Rice (20 points, 6-12 FG, 4-8 3-pt, 4-5 FTs), Gillespie (15 points, 2-10 FG, 11-11 FTs, 3 assists) and Derik Queen (10 points, 2-11 FG, 6-9 FTs, 10 rebounds) and received 0 points from their bench compared to MSU’s 23 points.

10 high-major men’s basketball teams have won 7+ road games this season.

10 high-major men’s basketball teams have won 5+ games booked as an underdog this season.

ONLY one (1) high-major men’s basketball team has done BOTH:

• Michigan State

Spartan DAWGS. pic.twitter.com/5SEuf6Za7e

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) February 27, 2025

The game started with both teams displaying strong defensive efforts. Michigan State struggled offensively, shooting just 29% from the field in the first half. Jase Richardson was the only Spartan to score more than four points in the first half, contributing nine points and four rebounds. Despite their shooting woes, the Spartans’ tough defense kept them within striking distance, trailing 31-29 at halftime and both teams were dealing with foul issues. After MSU’s quick start, both teams apparently paused the game and decided to volunteer time in building homes for Habitat for Humanity because there were enough bricks for a beautiful mansion. It was ugly, extremely ugly. However, in typical Spartan/Izzo fashion, they kept their pressure up on the defensive end and rebounding to gain control in the second half. However, after having a lead late in the first, they quickly gave it up including a buzzer beater to trail by 2 at the half.

15 PTS, 8 REB for Jase Richardson in a huge road win for Michigan State. Undersized by NBA standards, but has some real ‘it-factor.’ Smooth athlete who can glide through contact and eat up space gracefully. Soft touch, crisp footwork, good feel. Highly polarizing to scouts. https://t.co/u0vewymXr5 pic.twitter.com/KpDRsXbQSA

— Jacob Myers (@League_Him) February 27, 2025

Xavier Booker hit a 3 at the 13:02 mark to give MSU a 5-point lead and began the control for all but the final 3-4 minutes of the game. The tug of war resulted in neither team having a lead larger than 7 and only 2 ties with 1 lead change, setting up the final moments. In a weird twist, Maryland hit their final FG at the 5:07 mark and poured in their final 9 points all on free throws, owning a large disparity that MSU largely enjoys. It was during this longer stretch where Tre scored all of his 9 points including the final shot, after nearly turning it over twice in the final 3 possessions, but redeemed himself with a crowd-silencing swish, similar to Cassius Winston last time he played in College Park. As well going back to 2010 when Korie Lucious, in the then-ACC claimed Terripan team, in the NCAA Tournament witnessed by then teammate and now Assistant Coach, Austin Thornton, to move on to the next round.

Since the west coast trip, Jase has elevated his game to a higher level, scoring in double-figures in 6 consecutive games and earning multiple Freshman Player of the Week awards in the Big Ten and evolving into their go-to scorer as now, the only double-digit average point-getting on the team. Their rebounding dominance continued, +12 overall and +9 on the offensive end and earned a +6 edge in fast break points. What was tough to explain was how Frankie Fidler played a low of 9 minutes, the second time since USC he’s totaled under 10 minutes. He has been the best guard defender and energy guy of the bench, clearly their most impactful X-factor as one of the true bench players. His energy has been needed and ability to defend better than ANY guard on this team, defies his lack of minutes. He’s not been in foul trouble much, totaled 3+ in only IU and Oregon games and had only one other game where he had 3 and that was 12/7 vs Nebraska.

Next game is Sunday at home vs. Wisconsin at 1:30pm on CBS.

TEAM STATS:

Spartans: 22-65 FG (33.8%), 4-15, 3-PT (26.7%), 10-12 FT (83.3%)

Terrapins: 15-48 FG (31.3%), 4-20, 3-PT (20.0%), 21-26 FT (80.8%)

Record/Rankings & More:

23-5 (14-3, 1st-Big Ten) Rankings: #8 AP / #8 Coaches Poll
Updated KenPom- Off: 26th / Def: 6th. Adjusted Tempo: 177th. SOS Net Rtg: 36th +11.68

Updated Bart Torvik- ADJOE: 32nd/ADJDE: 15th / EFF.FGD%: 46.0 (17th) / ORBD %: 36.6 (15th) & DRBD %: 25.3 (15th)

Other Metrics: KPI (8th), ESPN SoR (8th), ESPN BPI (12th), T-Rank: 17th — #8 in FT % (79.9%), #9 in FTM/game (18.0)/ #33 in FTA/game (22.5)

FULL KenPom Stats: https://kenpom.com/index.php

FULL Bart Torvik Stats: https://barttorvik.com/#

FULL T-Rank Stats: https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2025/net-teamsheets-plus#google_vignette