Henry: Michigan State Basketball "Didn't Compete" Against Rutgers
Following a 20-day layoff, the Spartans entered New Jersey with just three practices, and it showed.
It was clear from the beginning, with Michigan State falling into a 15-0 hole five minutes in.
Outside of a late push in the first half, when MSU cut the lead to three points and entered the locker room down six, the Spartans weren't a threat to RU.
"It had nothing to do with twenty days off; it had nothing to do with the time we missed," junior captain Aaron Henry said. "It's a mental approach, and honestly, it starts with me."
The Indiana native had a poor outing offensively (as did the rest of Michigan State), making three out of the ten shots he drew up for seven points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal.
"It's Big Ten basketball, man," said Henry. "A lot of shots aren't going to fall for a lot of teams, it's who competes the hardest, and tonight we didn't compete."
Everyone expected the Spartans to struggle, but few thought it to go so poorly as Michigan State turned the ball over 21 times, resulting in nearly half of Rutger's 67 total points (33).
"I didn't know what we would do … if I told you what the keys to the game were, that was one (limit turnovers) … we didn't do a very good job, and that falls on me," MSU coach Tom Izzo said.
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