At MSG, bench powers Michigan State to 81-74 win over Rutgers

Connor Earegood, The Detroit News on Jan 25, 2025

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Usually the stars are the ones who sparkle under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. For a Michigan State men’s basketball team driven by its depth, the spotlight instead shined on its bench.

For the 12th straight win and a spotless Big Ten record, No. 8 Michigan State (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) dispatched Rutgers in an 81-74 win Saturday afternoon at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Its bench, particularly forward Coen Carr and guard Jase Richardson, proved vital to the victory.

Richardson led the Spartans with 20 points, while Carr added 14. Carr also led in rebounds with eight while guard Tre Holloman's six assists led Michigan State. Guard Jaden Akins led the Spartans in shots but went 3 for 15 from the field and scored 13 points. Rutgers guard Jordan Derkack led the game with 26 points.

The win is Michigan State’s fifth at Madison Square Garden, with a 5-17 record at the venue and a 5-13 mark under coach Tom Izzo.

Rutgers (10-10, 3-6) came into this game with two of the biggest stars of the Big Ten in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, who both average north of 19 points per game. Harper, ailed by an ankle injury, was questionable to play in the game. Though he warmed up, by tip-off he was out of the starting lineup. He played 12 minutes off the bench in the first half before starting the second.

A pair of MSU turnovers gifted Rutgers a 10-6 lead at the first media timeout. Its interior defense proved difficult for Michigan State to break through, and this only became tougher as forward Jaxon Kohler took his second foul just 3:42 into the game.

For a depth-driven Michigan State squad, turning to the bench was always in the cards. In this case, the Spartans relied on it. Buckets from forwards Coen Carr, Xavier Booker and Frankie Fidler tied the game at 11 seven minutes in. Then a dunk from Carr gave Michigan State the lead.

By the time a Jase Richardson three stretched that lead to 17-11, a 14-1 run scored entirely by bench players asserted control over the game. Defensively, Carr made life difficult for Bailey in the paint to build this lead, slowing down both the star and his Rutgers offense to a crawl.

After the run, the teams traded scores, including a lot of trips to the free-throw line, Rutgers chipped Michigan State’s lead down to a single point with 3:42 remaining. Harper proved key to this stretch, scoring four points as part of a 7-0 run, the other bucket coming from a Derkack 3-pointer. Derkack converted an and-one to tie the score at 28 with 1:51 left in the first half.

Once again, Michigan State’s reserves proved its savior. Carr got the lead back immediately with a dunk, and Richardson picked up his team’s next five points to score 11 points in the first half. The Spartans took a 35-32 lead to the locker room.

Coming out of the second half, the starters brought more intensity in scoring, with four of the five scoring by getting to the paint. Rutgers got hot, too. Harper started the second half, and he and Bailey quickly worked the transition game. Center Lathan Sommerville got involved, too, scoring twice to keep the game within a shot or two.

Carr proved vital to the defense again, slowing down Bailey at the rim as Richardson and center Carson Cooper expanded Michigan State’s lead.

Defense ultimately keyed Michigan State’s takeover midway through the second half, holding Rutgers to one made shot on nine attempts from 15:30 to 10:55. Looking to get the game back under control, Rutgers called timeout facing a 54-44 deficit.

The misses kept coming. Bailey put up a shot on the next possession that clanged off the rim, Carr’s defense flustering him once again. Carr and Richardson pushed the lead to a game-high 13 points, buckling into the driver's seat of this game.

Rutgers tried to score its way back into the game, but Michigan State’s lead didn’t droop past double digits until a Derkack 3-pointer with 1:02 left. The Scarlet Knights whittled the lead to six points with 22 seconds left, but by then the game was all but decided. Carr iced the victory with free throws.

Bailey didn't score a second-half field goal until there were just 49 seconds on the clock. Bailey finished the game shooting 4 for 17 from the field. For only the third time this season, neither Bailey nor Harper broke 20 points, though Bailey came close with 18.

Michigan State’s bench outscored Rutgers’ 50-34 and 42-26 overall in the paint. The Spartans shot 5 for 19 on 3-pointers and 48.2% from the field. Nineteen assists led to 27 made baskets.

A perfect 8-0 keeps Michigan State atop the Big Ten, ahead of 8-2 Purdue in second place. The Spartans return to Breslin Center to face Minnesota at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday (Peacock).

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