Tom Izzo watched his Michigan State basketball team absorb a one-sided, start-to-finish throttling at the hands of red-hot Wisconsin. And the 10th-ranked Spartans saw their chances to repeat as Big Ten champions all but vanish with lapses in both their offense and defense.

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Jeremy Fears played one of his best games to help No. 10 Michigan State earn a much-needed win after his coach thought about benching him. Fears started the game and finished with 26 points — 11 in OT — and 15 assists in 42 minutes,

Michigan State basketball has endured a difficult stretch of games. After dropping a home matchup against third-ranked Michigan, the Spartans looked to rebound

Jeremy Fears Jr.’s tactics were questioned for a second consecutive game when he received a technical in Michigan State’s loss to Minnesota.

The Spartans' point guard was back in the spotlight for good (and bad) reasons in MSU's win vs. No. 5 Illinois

Jeremy Fears scored 26 points, including a tiebreaking three-point play with 1:47 left in overtime, and had 15 assists to help No. 10 Michigan State hold on for an 85-82 win over No. 5 Illinois

Here are five things to know about Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr.

After a technical foul and other plays by Jeremy Fears Jr. in Michigan State loss at Minnesota, Spartans coach Tom Izzo threatened to bench his star.

The spotlight on Fears is now a lot more intense, for a lot of the wrong reasons. Following an 83-71 win in East Lansing last week, Michigan coach Dusty May called out Fears for making dangerous plays. One appeared to show Fears attempting to trip Yaxel Lendeborg while he attempted to close out defensively on a 3-point attempt.

From overlooked prospect to Wooden Award contender, Jeremy Fears Jr. now dominates scoring and ignites debate with his relentless "anything to win" mentality.