Five Takeaways: Michigan State pulls away late in big win over No. 23 Rutgers
Coming off back-to-back losses, Michigan State was in dire need of a win on Thursday night when they hosted No. 23 Rutgers.
The Spartans got off a slugglish start, falling behind 14-5 in the opening minutes, before settling in to take a 36-30 lead into halftime. MSU maintained that lead throughout the entirety of the second half, and pulled away late for a 70-56 victory over the Scarlet Knights.
Here are five takeaways from Michigan State's win:
1.) Balanced scoring for MSU
Over the previous three games, Michigan State was mostly reliant on one guy to carry the offensive scoring load in each game. Power forward led MSU with 20 points vs. Wisconsin, point guard A.J. Hoggard scored 20 points vs. Illinois, and shooting guard Tyson Walker put the Spartans on his back with 30 points vs. Purdue.
Tonight, Michigan State was much more balanced in its scoring. As a result, Rutgers was not able to key in on one guy defensively. The Spartans had five players score in double-digits, led by Hoggard with 16 points. The junior added seven assists, three rebounds and a steal.
Hauser bounced back from a couple poor shooting performances by scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting tonight, including 3-for-4 from downtown. Hauser added six rebounds and four assists. Meanwhile, Walker and freshman center Jaxon Kohler each scored 12 tonight for the Spartans, while sophomore guard Jaden Akins added 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in an solid, all-around effort.
2.) Michigan State finds the range offensively
The Spartans struggled to shoot from outside in their back-to-back losses to Illinois and Purdue, shooting 0-for-7 from deep against the Fighting Illini and 6-for-19 vs. the Boilermakers.
Tonight, Michigan State returned to form from outside, shooting 12-for-22 from three-point range against the Scarlet Knights. Hauser was 3-for-4, Walker and Hoggard each shot 3-for-5 from deep, while Akins went 3-for-6.
The three-point shot has never been more important in basketball, and that's especially true this season for MSU. The Spartans don't have a dominant player on the block that they can throw the ball to, so they rely more on outside jumpers to open driving lanes for Hoggard, Walker and others.
3.) Rebounding discrepancy
Head coach Tom Izzo will be happy with the victory, but he won't be pleased with his team's rebounding effort tonight.
Michigan State was getting killed on the glass early, as the Scarlet Knights amassed a 20-10 rebounding advantage through about the first 15 minutes of the game. Nine of those first 20 Rutgers rebounds came on the offensive end, which resulted in nine second chance points for the Scarlet Knights.
While things improved slightly for MSU from there, Rutgers still out-rebounded the Spartans (42-34) and finished with a whopping 18 offensive rebounds. Michigan State was fortunate that those second chances resulted in just 15 points for the Scarlet Knights.
4.) Michigan State 'good enough' on defense
We've seen better defensive performances from the Spartans this season, but MSU was good enough tonight to make Rutgers uncomfortable and miss a ton of shots. Michigan State had an impressive nine steals and six blocks as a team in a disruptive effort defensively.
Akins and Walker each had four steals, while Hoggard added the ninth for MSU. In addition to his 12 points scored, Kohler had perhaps his best night defensively as a Spartan with three blocks and 11 rebounds.
The Scarlet Knights shot just 34 percent from the floor, and were a ghastly 2-of-17 from beyond the three-point line. Rutgers got multiple good looks from deep, but just could not knock anything down. Michigan State had its hands full with the Scarlet Knights athletic bigs in the post, and that was clearly their defensive focus. That allowed for opportunities for Rutgers' backcourt, but they never took advantage.
5.) Tough night for Mady Sissoko
Starting center Mady Sissoko had a night to forget. The junior played just 16 minutes and finished with two points, four rebounds and a blocked shot. While Michigan State won the game by 13, the Spartans were outscored by one point while Sissoko was on the floor. He struggled to rebound against Rutgers' athletic bigs, and he was ultimately benched in favor of Kohler for much of the second half.
Fortunately, the freshman big man took advantage of the opportunity with perhaps his best game as a Spartan. Kohler finished with a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds). It's just one game, but it will be interesting to see if Izzo gives Kohler more of Sissoko's minutes in future outings.
Up Next
After enjoying the friendly confines of the Breslin Center in their last two outings, Michigan State hits the road this weekend for a trip to Bloomington to battle Indiana on Sunday. The Hoosiers are currently playing at Illinois, and entered that game at 11-6 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play.
Following the game at Indiana, the Spartans will enjoy a much-needed three days off before hosting one of the most high-powered offensive teams in the Big Ten in the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-6, 4-3).
