Michigan State is absolutely rolling this season, including Saturday’s Madison Square Garden matchup vs. Rutgers. The big-time venue produced the expected atmosphere, but it was not enough to keep the Scarlet Knights out of harm’s way.

The Spartans held a 35-32 lead at the break but steadily pulled away in the 2nd half. Tom Izzo’s squad held a double-digit lead for much of the final minutes of this one, eventually capping an 81-74 win.

Keys to the win

Michigan State has received contributions across the lineup all season long, but today’s game was especially unique. The Spartan bench outscored the regulars 50-to-31 while Jase Richardson continued his phenomenal freshman campaign with 20 points while connecting on 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

The bench contributions were also aided by a massive performance from Coen Carr. He was everywhere with 14 points, a team-high 8 rebounds, an assist and 2 blocks while making all 5 of his field-goal attempts.

Carr’s athleticism is regularly on display, and he went after it inside Madison Square Garden. He showed off early with one throwdown off a picture-perfect alley-oop play.

In the 2nd half, Carr ran the baseline on a fastbreak to throw down an emphatic tomahawk jam that put the Spartans up by 12 points with 8:30 left to play:

Carr has provided a spark throughout the season, and Saturday was one of his best all-around performances to date.

Outside of Carr and Richardson, Jaden Akins chipped in 12 points but struggled mightily with a 3-for-15 shooting effort. Tre Holloman was effective for the Spartans with 9 points and 6 assists while Xavier Booker added 9 points and 4 blocks.

Defense for Tom Izzo’s group was once again paramount. The Spartans held Rutgers to a 33.8% shooting effort for the game while holding star freshmen Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper to 24 total points.

MSU’s ceiling?

With the win, MSU is now a perfect 8-0 in Big Ten play, the only team undefeated in league play at this juncture. It is the 12th straight win for the Spartans, and Izzo’s group is looking to keep this special run going.

The potential is there for MSU to run this winning streak and lead in the Big Ten even higher. The Spartans face Minnesota this week and then head out to Los Angeles to face USC and UCLA on the road.

That 3-game stretch includes teams currently unranked before returning home for a matchup against No. 15 Oregon. But once the Ducks arrive in East Lansing, things get considerably tougher down the stretch.

From Feb. 8 onward, Michigan State will face 6 opponents currently ranked in the top 25 in the final 9 games of the season. We’ll see if the Spartans are ready to handle that stretch and reclaim the B1G crown after struggling in the regular season since 2020.