Never a doubt! Despite trailing for all but 11 seconds of the second half, your Michigan State Spartans have improved to 19-2. Let’s relive this road matchup and recap the action.
This game started out slow, with the pace going according to the plan of Steve Pikiell and Rutgers, who came out with heavy doses of zone defense mixed in with a full court press, slowing down the Spartan offense substantially. As has been the norm for State basketball this season, the half court offense came out stagnant,
with MSU turning the ball over five times before Rutgers would commit their first TO. The teams traded ugly posessions early on, until Dylan Grant and Divine Ugochukwu each knocked down a three point field goal to bring the game to an 8-7 score in favor of the Scarlet Knights going into the under-16 timeout.
In terms of fouls, the Spartan big men were able to get Emmanuel Ogbole, the 5-man for the Scarlet Knights, into foul trouble early. His two penalties in less than three minutes of game time sent him to the sidelines for a long stint on the bench. Bryce Dortch would replace him down low, and RU would not miss a beat- as Tariq Francis would take the initiative and go on his own 8-0 run, stretching the Scarlet Knight lead to 21-13.
MSU would quickly get themselves back into the game by way of #45 Jaxon Kohler knocking down a corner three and a sweet euro-step dunk from Flight 55, but hit a wall at 18 points on the board for several minutes. The swarming defense of Rutgers, combined with stellar outside shooting for the home team set the Spartans back with their largest first half deficit of the Big Ten conference season at 18-29. Point Guard Jeremy Fears picked up his second foul during this 6-0 sequence for Rutgers at the 5:16 mark, which would cause MSU’s turnover problems against the Knight zone to take yet another turn for the worse.
It took quite a bit for Michigan State to get one to go once Fears headed to the bench, but Freshman Jordan Scott was able to provide five straight points with a three from the wing and pair of free throws, cutting the Rutgers lead down to six. The trend of individual mini-runs (or mini vans) continued, with Darren Buchanan of the Scarlet Knights getting into the action with six consecutive points of his own.
The stagnant Spartan offense continued to struggle during the final couple minutes of the half, only buoyed by a Coen Carr three pointer and Carson Cooper layup in the closing seconds. Your halftime score? 37-28 in favor of the team in black jerseys. MSU’s biggest halftime defecit of the season so far.
By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, State had picked up 10 TOs to only one from Rutgers. More importantly, the Knights scored 17 points off of these ten pastries, with these easy buckets contributing to Rutgers’ 46% halftime field goal percentage. While poor offensive composure in the 1H for MSU led to tough situations on the defensive end and Michigan State still led the rebounding battle at the half 20-9, the running portion of Spartan basketball was noticeably absent. Only 2 points in transition at the half for MSU can be attributed to the pressing defense from Pikiell’s squad, and the Scarlet Knight’s decision to vacate the offensive glass in favor of getting back on the defensive side of the floor.
The first possession of the second half immediately gave Rutgers their first offensive rebound of the game, with Jamichael Davis grabbing his own board off of a missed three. He wouldn’t miss twice as he drained his next look instantly, breaking 40 on the scoreboard for RU. An ugly shot clock violation for State got the home New Jersey crowd on their feet, but MSU was able to get a stop and a score with a Kaden Powers missed jumper and Carson Cooper dunk by way of a Fears lob.
Another nice offensive possession from Sparty concluded with Divine Ugochukwu assisting on a Jaxon Kohler (now back in #0) layup. Darren Buchanan answered back with a deuce, but a Jeremy Fears step back three and Coen Carr trip for to the line cut the lead to six. Dylan Grant and Buchanan would once again respond with a pair of tough contested layups, and the lead was once again back up to double digits, where it would largely remain for the next few minutes of back and forth basketball. It seemed that Rutgers had an answer for every Spartan bucket over this stretch, as Fears contributed a couple from the line and inside the lane, yet Harun Zrno continued his hot shooting night by nailing a three right in front of the Scarlet Knight bench, bringing the score to 51-40.
The Spartans were finally able to combine two positive offensive possessions with a defensive stop (aka: Jordan Scott getting headbutted for a foul), getting the score back within 7 before the under-12 timeout. Tariq Francis of Rutgers came out of the break red hot, hitting an open three and very tough mid range shot, but MSU continued to fight thanks to a Jordan Scott putback layup and Divine Ugochukwu triple. Fears was able to draw an offensive foul with 8:54 remaining and the Rugers lead at 9.
The size for MSU down low finally started to show on the next few possessions, with Coen Carr muscling up a putback layup and back-to-back Carson Cooper grown man buckets, bringing the game to a 55-60 affair with 6:45 on the clock.
Fittingly, Zrno of Rutgers would make a deep trey to erase the Spartan run. Some sloppy play with batted rebounds and near turnovers would result in the Rutgers lead back up to 8 at the 3:51 mark. Carr would step up and make the late shot clock triple to cut the lead to five, but a poor decision by Cooper to try and drive the lane resulted in a turnover and two Scarlet Knight free throws, bringing the score to 67-60.
MSU would fight once again, with back to back layups from Carr and Fears bringing it to a one possession game for the first time in the second half, with just under two minutes to play. Fears did his thing on the defensive end, drawing the Zrno offensive foul, setting up a key possession, where the floor general would will his way into a three-point play. With the game tied up at 67-67 with 67 seconds left to play, the Scarlet Knights drew two fouls and the second was of the shooting variety, bringing Tariq Francis to the charity stripe where he’d hit both.
Fears brought it back down the court, found Kohler for the wide open top of the key three, and he missed short. A quick foul and a one for two trip for Jamichael Davis kept the hope for Sparty, and Fears would hit a floater to cut the lead to one. Davis made his next two free throws, and Izzo countered once again with a timeout with 21.8 seconds remaining, setting up another pair of FTs for Fears. A 1-2 trip sent it back to Davis who would mirror State’s PG with a 50% free throw set. With 11 seconds left, MSU trailed by three. With 11 seconds left, MSU received an intervention. One of Divine inspiration. Ugochukwu knocked down a corner three to tie the game up, and force OT after the following floater from Franics rimmed out.
The overtime scoring opened with Jaxon Kohler getting back in the scoring column with two free throws, and solid defensive stands from Michigan State. At 75-73, the Spartans once again found Jax down low, who converted on an old fashioned three point play to grow the lead to five. Coen Carr committed a foul on the ensuing possession, sending Francis to the line and bringing the game back to a three point difference. Jeremy Fears was not to be outdone, converting on a nifty layup and bumping the lead back up.
After that, MSU took control. The Scarlet Knight’s hot shooting finally cooled off, and the Spartans were able to keep their composure and knock down the final free throws. State will depart the Garden State with an 88-79 win, and increased heart rates all along.
What are your takeaways from the game? Leave them below in the comments, and GO GREEN!
