CHICAGO — Jeremy Fears Jr. was on a mission playing in front of his hometown crowd at the Champions Classic.

Led by a brilliant effort from Fears, the National Player of the Year frontrunner, No. 5 Michigan State hit No. 2 Duke hard with the first punch and never relented during a convincing 79-73 victory on Tuesday night. While the opening matchup of college basketball’s annual November showcase looked like it might be one-sided in favor of the Blue Devils — who entered the game as nearly 7-point favorites — the Spartans opened the game on an 11-2 run, never trailed and led by double-digits for stretches of the second half.

Fears put forth a strong opening salvo for an awards campaign — finishing with 18 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds while completely overshadowing a beleaguered Blue Devil backcourt. Perhaps most importantly, Michigan State looked like a serious national title contender with Fears receiving plenty of help from a variety of sources on both ends of the floor.

The Spartans stood out in multiple ways with its impressive Champions Classic win over Duke. As Tom Izzo stood on the sidelines smiling and winking with Michigan State controlling nearly all 40 minutes, it’s clear the Spartans could be a force this season.

The redemption arc was clear for Fears entering the Duke matchup at Champions Classic. Facing the Blue Devils in a non-conference game last season at the Breslin Center, Fears went a miserable 0-for-10 in a Michigan State loss — finishing with six points and 13 assists.

It would have been natural for Fears to aggressively hunt his own offense early to show Duke (and the nation) how he’s evolved as a player. Instead, Fears leaned into playing his own game, finding his teammates and letting his own offense come to him later.

Finishing with only three points in the first half, Fears focused on working the ball to Michigan State’s other weapons, finishing the first 20 minutes with eight assists. In the second half, Fears turned up the pressure attacking and splitting ball screens, often drawing multiple Blue Devil defenders and getting to the free-throw line on a regular basis.

If Fears wasn’t feeding big men under the basket for easy dunks, finding open perimeter shooters or completely disrupting Duke’s offensive game plan, you could see the floor general facing the green-and-white sections of the United Center — repeatedly waving his arms upward to generate more noise from the Michigan State faithful.

“They put me in position to be successful,” Fears said while crediting his teammates and coaching staff. “At the same time, I put the time in, I put the work in and just keep trusting whatever we’re going to do. And at the end of the day, credit to [my teammates], they were in the right spots to help us win.”

With Fears trusting his own game — and not trying to do too much offensively — the veteran point guard continues to instill trust in his teammates by regularly getting them easy shots.

On a night where senior wing Coen Carr battled foul trouble and was limited to nine points, sophomore Cam Ward stepped up his play with 14 points off the bench. Freshman Jasiah Jervis also showed natural shot-creating ability to alleviate some pressure on Fears and Carr by finishing with 10 points. Although he didn’t have a big scoring night, sophomore forward Jordan Scott looked like a defensive force, adding nine rebounds, six blocks and two steals.

And Michigan State’s interior is one of the biggest in the country. Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke and freshman Ethan Taylor are both 7-foot-2. And if sophomore forward Jesse McCulloch were an inch taller, the Spartans would be the seventh team in the country with three 7-footers on the opening-night roster.

Clearly the more aggressive and physical team, Michigan State’s tenacity bothered Duke’s offense, holding them to 33 percent shooting and 24 percent 3-point shooting.

“I think once we figured out how physical that we could be — every game is different, how much the refs are letting go and everything — but just going out there, you have to throw the first punch, especially a team like that. I mean they’re too good to sit around and wait for them to hit you first,” Scott said.

By throwing an early knockout, excitement abounds out of East Lansing for perhaps Izzo’s most talented team of this decade. While still perennially an NCAA Tournament team, Michigan State is still seeking its first Final Four appearance since 2019.

With Fears leading the charge, and an improved roster surrounding him on both ends of the floor, the Spartans are hoping the Champions Classic was a sign of bigger things to come.