Coen Carr is must-see March Madness TV for Michigan State — and it’s not just the dunks
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sure, the dunks are great.
Really great. So, so great.
Coen Carr’s air show is must-see TV. Mixtape stuff. His high-flying highlights fill up social media feeds and fuel Michigan State. It never gets old for the Spartans.
“I don’t think people understand, like, how crazy the stuff he’s doing is,” Michigan State guard Jordan Scott said. “Even the top athletes, like, in the world, aren’t doing the stuff that he’s doing.”
Carr again provided the most memorable moments for the third-seeded Spartans as they advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 77-69 victory against sixth-seeded Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
What was especially satisfying for Carr and coach Tom Izzo was all the other stuff the 6-foot-6 junior did Saturday against the Cardinals — like a career-best 10 rebounds to go with 21 points for his first double-double.
“I thought the best part of Coen’s game was his rebounding and his defense,” Izzo said. “I just thought Coen, he was the best-conditioned guy.”
Carr, who shoots only 27.5 percent from 3-point range, also went 2-for-4 from behind the arc. That got his teammates almost as excited as the dunks.
“We told him, nonstop, you got to feel confident in your shot,” center Carson Cooper said. “I mean, he’s been shooting confidently constantly in the gym, and he’s getting the returns on that. So it’s really cool.”
Carr said he was feeling good he would get to the double-double when he had seven rebounds at the half.
“I always try to be a spark on the defensive end, on the offensive end, rebounding,” Carr said.
And, yes, the dunks were awesome.
“They were pretty good, to be honest,” he said.
The first one came late in the first half and was fairly routine — at least for Carr. He was stationed near the corner and drove the baseline to provide a target for Jeremy Fears Jr., who tossed up a perfect lob. Carr, his eyes near rim level, threw it down two-handed over two helpless Cardinals.
The second one came early in the second half and was even better, the type of dunk Carr’s teammates insist is worth even more than two points.
“Definitely, his dunks and, like, chase-down blocks or something like that, just change the whole momentum, gets everybody up, everybody yelling, especially if it’s, like, an and-1 dunk. Completely halts the other team’s momentum,” Scott said.
Fears, who set a school NCAA Tournament record with 16 assists, found Carr streaking away from the defense in transition. Carr caught the ball in stride with his right hand and took flight for the one-handed jam. Cardinals coach Pat Kelsey immediately called a timeout as the Michigan State fans erupted.
The biggest plays by Carr were yet to come.
He blocked a shot by Ryan Conwell, who led Louisville with 21 points, and that led to a transition 3 by Trey Fort to stretch the lead to 48-40 with 13:48 left.
In a physical game, Michigan State took a while to finally shake free of the Cardinals, and Carr was right in the middle of it. His and-1 on a turnaround jumper, elevating over two defenders to beat the shot clock, put the Spartans up by eight with 7:42 left.
To top it off, a corner 3 — again with the shot clock winding down — to make it 66-53 with 4:45 left.
Michigan State next heads to Washington for an East Regional semifinal matchup with either UCLA or UConn. Top-seeded Duke also advanced to D.C. on Saturday.
If Michigan State is going to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2019, Izzo will need more of the do-everything Carr.
Though even the 71-year-old coach concedes, the dunks are cool.
“You guys get to see these dunks here. I get to see a lot better dunks in practice,” Izzo said. “Unfortunately I just kind of go, hmm, that’s Coen. In fact, Jeremy chewed him out for missing that one at the end, so I joined in and chewed him out myself.”