EAST LANSING, Mich. – A win over Nebraska is one thing. Knocking off the No. 15 team in the country is another.
Michigan State, coming off its first Big Ten victory over the weekend in Nebraska, validated that win by returning home on Tuesday night and defeating Rutgers, 68-45, at the Breslin Center.
Aaron Henry was the start once again for No. 23 Michigan State, scoring 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting for the Spartans (8-3, 2-3 Big Ten). It was the second straight game Henry reached the 20-point mark after a career-high 27 at Nebraska.
Joshua Langford added 11 points with seven coming in the final five minutes to help put the game away. Rocket Watts scored 11 and Joey Hauser pulled down 14 rebounds to go with nine points.
Ron Harper Jr. scored 13 to lead Rutgers (7-3, 3-3) while Jacob Young scored 11 for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers entered the game shooting nearly 40% from 3-point range but was just 3-for-12 on Tuesday and shot 30.5% overall (18-for-59) in one of Michigan State’s best defensive outings in weeks.
It was clear from the outset that Henry was going to build off his last outing as he scored seven of Michigan State’s first seven points, including a 3-pointer that put the Spartans ahead, 11-4, and forced an early Rutgers timeout.
From there, the turnovers began to pile up. Michigan State gave the ball away on three of its first four possessions, and after settling down for a moment, it lost the ball on four consecutive possessions while failing to score for almost five minutes. However, the Spartans never lost the lead as Rutgers was 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the first half and was just 2-for-9 from the free-throw line.
Michigan State had a chance to push the lead to double digits, leading 22-14, but two straight turnovers led to two easy Rutgers buckets. Another layup in transition pulled the Scarlet Knights to within 22-20 before Malik Hall scored on a drive to the hoop and Gabe Brown buried a 3-pointer in transition to put Michigan State up, 27-20.
After a pair of Rutgers free throws and one from A.J. Hoggard, the Spartans headed to halftime up, 28-22.
Michigan State maintained control early in the second half, and when Henry hit back-to-back jumpers – the second a 3-pointer – the Spartans had pushed their lead to 41-30 with 12:52 to play in the game. Michigan State’s lead grew to 15 on six straight points from Watts and after a surge from the Scarlet Knights, Hauser hit a much-needed 3-pointer with 8:45 to play to give Michigan State a 51-36 lead.
Rutgers scored four straight to cut Michigan State’s lead to 11, but the Spartans scored the next 10, getting five in a row from Langford to begin the run and capping it with a three-point play from Hall, giving Michigan State a 61-40 lead and effectively put the game away.
