Aidan Jensen, Tar Heels WireFri, November 28, 2025 at 1:04 AM UTC·4 min readThe North Carolina Tar Heels took the basketball court once against on Thursday, facing Michigan State in a highly-anticipated, Thanksgiving Day clash.
When the final buzzer sounded, Tom Izzo's Spartans emerged with a comfortable, 74-58 victory. UNC (6-1) never discovered its offensive rhythm in the second half, while failing to counter MSU's (7-0) hot shooting.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSpeaking of shooting, North Carolina suffered through its worst, late-2025 performance so far. The Tar Heels made just 21 of their 55 shots (38 percent). UNC struggled particularly from deep, draining just four of its 21 attempts, for a head-scratching 17 percent. For a team that supposedly got perimeter shooting reinforcements in the offseason, Thursday didn't prove that being the case.
Michigan State couldn't miss, even against North Carolina's solid defense. The Spartans shot a lights-out 31-of-60 (52 percent) from the field, won the paint battle and took advantage of their free throws (7-of-9). Jeremy Fears (19 points), Carson Cooper (14) and Jaxon Kohler (10) all scored in double-digits, with Kohler adding 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Caleb Wilson still enjoyed a solid game, leading the Tar Heels with 18 points and seven rebounds, but he was largely a non-factor in the second half. Henri Veesaar (13 points) and Luka Bogavac (11) also scored in double-digits, but UNC got just five bench points, compared to 20 from MSU.
Take a look at some social media reactions from Thursday's result, which creates more questions than answers for North Carolina.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIs Seth Trimble's absence looming large?
This play sums up how the game progressed
Stop overreacting
Ball security wasn't great
UNC will learn from today's loss
UNC does infact need Seth Trimble back
No other way to describe it.
Tough to find offensive production from anyone tonight
Just how bad was the shooting?
Game felt winnable throughout
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball: Social media reactions to loss against Michigan State
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