Auburn Loss Serving as Motivator for MSU's Jaxon Kohler

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 7:39 PM ET

Michigan State's magical 2024-25 season came to an end when it was bested by the No. 1 overall seed, Auburn, in the Elite Eight back in March.

While the Spartans showed fight, as they had done throughout the whole tournament, it certainly wasn't one of their better games. One of the few bright spots, however, was the performance of then-junior forward Jaxon Kohler, who turned in a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Of course, it's not about individual showings, though, and it was the loss that stuck with the veteran forward.

And he's using it as motivation.

"We're all still upset about the Auburn loss; I'm still upset," Kohler said. "It drives me every day. But at a certain point, you have to bounce right back up from the floor. And for me, that was the next day after the Auburn loss. I know that we were one game away from the Final Four, and that's everybody's dreams; that's what most people fight for when they play basketball, especially at this level.

"But let's get one thing straight: The Auburn loss is something that's going to be driving -- I can't speak for everybody else -- but it's going to be driving me every single day. If I could have a do-over, what would I do differently? What would I improve? And that's how I see this offseason, is I'm going to be in a scenario this year where I'm going to look back and be like, 'Did I do everything I could to be successful here?'

"And I feel like that Auburn game was one of those opportunities, and I have a feeling that I'm going to run into another one, but this time, we're going to win the game, and we're going to win the championship, and we're going to be successful here, and I can end my last year the way I want it to."

Just as it did last offseason, Michigan State has a solid mixture of returners and newcomers, but each player has the same goal in mind -- one of the many great things about team sports.

"Everyone's motivated; we just have to get on the same page on how we're going to play and whose roles and who is doing what for the team and defining their roles," Kohler said. "That's something that we got to, sooner rather than later, we have to discuss and make sure we're all on the same page about."

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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