• Michigan State’s Coen Carr had a standout performance with 10 points and 8 rebounds, showcasing his intensity and hustle.
• MSU will face Wisconsin in the semifinals, aiming for their first championship game appearance since 2019.
• The Spartans are also vying for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s not often that Coen Carr misses a dunk. But he did Friday in Michigan State basketball’s Big Ten tournament opener with Oregon.

Twice. And absorbed a hard foul on a third attempt.

It didn’t matter to Tom Izzo. One bit.

“Coen grew up today,” the Hall of Fame coach said proudly in the MSU locker room after a 74-64 win over Oregon. “In a lot of ways.”

Carr finished with 10 points and tied a career high with eight rebounds. Sure, his first-half 3-pointer was a key part of a strong first-half finish that sent the No. 6 Spartans (27-5) into the break with a 10-point lead. But it was his second half intensity — particularly on the boards — that pushed 1-seed MSU into Saturday’s semifinal against 5-seed Wisconsin (1 p.m., CBS).

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s Bracket Challenge contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

BRACKETOLOGY: John Beilein pained to say: Michigan State basketball should be a 1-seed in March Madness

And the Spartans’ eighth straight win has them thinking about something bigger — making a case for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the selections are announced Sunday.

“That’s the talk around the locker room,” freshman Jase Richardson said, “trying to get a 1-seed.”

Richardson, who had 17 points despite going 4-for-13, took a knee to the neck late in the win but said afterward he felt fine and will be ready for Saturday’s semifinal.

On Friday, MSU’s offense sputtered with four early turnovers to start the second half, and Oregon (24-9) clawed back within a point as Keeshawn Barthelemy’s 3-pointer capped an 11-2 run. Izzo called timeout with 15:33 left.

“We had some turnovers, we took some bad shots,” redshirt freshman point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. said. “And we just were out of sync while they were making that run.”

Carr took over with an energized and impactful 6½-minute stretch as part of a 15-0 counterpunch knockout.

The 6-foot-6 sophomore swingman ripped five rebounds in that stretch, including a put-back after a Frankie Fidler jumper in the paint. Then after a Fidler 3-pointer in transition, Carr snagged another board and broke out running, getting fouled hard by Oregon star Nate Bittle while going for a thunder dunk. He made one of two at the line, but the pro-MSU crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse erupted with the end-to-end hustle play.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Michigan State basketball shows why it’s great in beating Oregon at Big Ten tournament

“I mean, you just gotta play hard. That’s all I was trying to do is play hard,” said Carr, who had three offensive rebounds and two steals. “The coaches told me to play hard, go out there and play fearless, play reckless, play free. So that’s what I tried to go out there and do.”

Carr wasn’t alone in helping the Spartans to a 27-12 bench scoring advantage. Carson Cooper had all six of his points and four of his five rebounds in the first half, including a key stretch late after the Ducks took their final lead of the day at 28-27.

The 6-foot-11 junior center had a pair of putback buckets and another coming shortly after his third offensive board of the first half. MSU’s 7-0 edge on the offensive glass led to outscoring Oregon, 13-0, in second-chance points in building a 42-32 lead at the break.

“You had to keep your foot on their neck for the whole game and just continue to be aggressive. And that was what we were doing,” Cooper said. “We kind of got complacent and kind of got stagnant at the end, and then we got that little jolt.”

The Spartans needed those contributions from Carr and Cooper. Despite combining for 40 points, starting guards Richardson (17), Jaden Akins (12) and Fears (11) went just 12-for-33 from the floor and hit just 12 of 20 free-throw attempts. As a team, MSU — which entered the postseason ranked No. 12 nationally at 78.9% on free throws — hit 17 of 29 at the line Friday.

That continued a recent trend for the Spartans, who closed the regular season by making just 69.5% at the line over its final seven games after hitting 81% in the first 24 games. Most of those were close contests, but all of them ended as MSU wins. As did the game against the Ducks.

“They missed some free throws that they’ve made all year long,” Izzo said. “I’m gonna lose sleep over a lot of things, that won’t be one of them.”

He’s also not pushing the internal conversation about a No. 1 seed – “I don’t ever talk about things I have no control over,” Izzo said – and believes the NCAA bracket essentially will be wrapped up before Sunday. That would give the Spartans one final opportunity to make a statement in Saturday’s semifinal game against the Badgers, who they beat 71-62 on March 2.

But they also want to add another banner before leaving Indianapolis.

“We feel like we gotta win this tournament to have a chance to (get a 1-seed),” Akins said.

Chris Solari’s prediction for Michigan State basketball vs. Wisconsin

The Badgers went nine deep in Friday’s 86-70 win over UCLA and will be looking to exact revenge for their loss in East Lansing two weeks ago. But the Spartans’ defense elevates again and sends them into Sunday’s championship game for the first time since winning it all in 2019. The pick: MSU 78, Wisconsin 68.

Contact Chris Solari:[email protected]. Follow him @chrissolari.

 Subscribe to the “Spartan Speak” podcast for new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts. And catch all of our podcasts and daily voice briefing at freep.com/podcasts.