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United Kingdom Five takeaways from Michigan State basketball's win over Rutgers in ...
Make it twelve straight wins for Michigan State basketball as MSU beat Rutgers. The Spartans went into the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden on Saturday and went toe-to-toe with two of the top freshmen in the league and came out with another impressive victory.
Rutgers gave MSU their best shot, but the Spartans stifled Rutgers’ two star players. Rutgers did make an impressive push in the last 90 seconds to add a little drama and intensity to the ending, but Michigan State was able to shut the door.
Below, we put together our top five takeaways from a fun game in the Garden.
Coen Carr has arrived
Nick King/LSJ
Everyone knows Coen Carr can dunk the basketball. He has always been able to do that. What I have been waiting for is for Carr to take his elite athleticism and apply it to his defense and rebounding.
Carr did exactly that against Rutgers, scoring 12 points and adding eight rebounds and two assists. Notably, Carr spent a lot of his day covering Rutgers’ phenom Ace Bailey, and he made his life miserable. Bailey was 3-for-16 from the field and looked extremely uncomfortable with the tenacious Carr hounding him around the court.
Carr could be the X-Factor for this team down the stretch.
If MSU has one big problem, it's the turnovers
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
If you’re going to nitpick something from this game, it would be the turnovers. MSU turned the ball over 15 times compared to just six turnovers for Rutgers. The turnovers kept Rutgers in the game and could have cost MSU the win if Rutgers shot it a little better.
Jase Richardson has legit NBA talent
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Basketball fans poured into Madison Square Garden on Saturday, with many of them presumably ready to watch future NBA lottery pick Ace Bailey shine on a huge stage. Instead, it was another future NBA player who stole the show (no disrespect to Jordan Derkack, who also scored a lot with most of it coming at the end of the game in desperation), as Jase Richardson lit up Rutgers to the tune of 20 points.
Jase Richardson is still learning on defense, but his offense is probably already good enough to where he could play in an NBA tomorrow if he had to.
Xavier Booker has been impressive lately
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Xavier Booker has had a bit of an up-and-down year. After starting the year as a starter, Booker has had some games where he’s nowhere to be seen as Izzo continues to mold him into the player he envisions him becoming. The last few games, Booker’s minutes have increased, and he’s been dominant on defense and his rebounding is much improved. His offense has always been great, so it’s great to see him improving the rest of his game to complement his strengths.
The Free Throw shooting is elite
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Rutgers put a little anxiety into MSU fans at the end of this game, making a late push thanks to some excellent shot-making from Jordan Derkack. Rutgers resorted to fouling MSU and forcing them to hit free throws to extend the game, and the Spartans didn’t flinch.
MSU shot an impressive 84.6% from the line in this one, something that has been a strength this year even though their three-point shooting has been inconsistent.
