After securing the season sweep over Maryland in College Park, Rutgers men’s basketball is set to conclude its final road trip of the regular season as it heads out to East Lansing to take on No.8 Michigan State.
The Scarlet Knights are coming into this game having just picked up a win on the road at Maryland. The Spartans, on the other hand, have been rolling over the past four games, earning wins over UCLA, Ohio State, No.8 Purdue, and Indiana.
Rutgers and Michigan State have already played each
other once this season, with the Spartans winning 88-79 in overtime in Piscataway. Despite being completely overmatched on paper, the Knights used a smaller lineup that pushed Michigan State to the limit and gave them something they were not expecting, making the game much more competitive than it was ever supposed to be. However, now the Spartans will be more prepared for what Rutgers has to throw at them.
Guard Jeremey Fears Jr. leads Michigan State in terms of points per game, with 15.1. He also leads the Spartans in assists per game with 9.1. Forward Jaxson Kohler is second on the team in points per game with 12.4, while leading the team in rebounds per game with 9.2. Another good all-around player for Michigan State is Center Carson Cooper, who averages 10.3 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game.
As a team, Michigan State averages 78.3 points per game, 40.4 rebounds per game, and 18.3 assists per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 75.7 percent from the free throw line, and 35.6 percent from three. In comparison, Rutgers is averaging 70.2 points per game, 33.3 rebounds per game, and 11.6 assists per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the floor, 73.6 percent from the line, and 31.7 percent from three.
The Knights will need to have a near-perfect game to be competitive in this one. In their last matchup, it took some creative lineup innovation from head coach Steve Pikiell that surprised legendary Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo to keep the game close and force overtime, where they ultimately lost. Now the Spartans have a game to look back on and study to figure out what Rutgers might throw at them. On top of that, this is a road game, while the last game was at home. Keeping this one competitive is going to be a very daunting task for the Knights. Hopefully, they have something up their sleeve like last time.
Rutgers vs Michigan State will tip off at 8 pm on Thursday, March 4th, inside the Breslin Center in East Lansing. Live coverage for the game will be available on FS1.
