Spartans battled adversity and turnovers, clawing back from an 11-point deficit to secure a hard-fought overtime victory against Rutgers.
Sometimes, you have to win ugly.
And this one was as ugly as Buzz’s girlfriend in Home Alone. But regardless of how it looked, a win is a win, and Michigan State improved to 19–2 overall and 9–1 in Big Ten play with an 88–79 overtime victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
As tipoff approached, it may have been negative degrees outside, but the smell of spring was somehow in the air.
The Detroit Tigers are just two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting, and the sound of a baseball popping into a glove is more than music to my ears—it’s the sound of spring, no matter how deep the snow still sits. Jason Benetti calling any game only adds to that feeling. Now that he’s the voice of the Tigers, his voice practically is spring and summer. Add in the sound of a basketball hitting hardwood, and with every dribble the noise fades until it’s replaced by two familiar words creeping into your ear like an earworm setting up shop for months: Final… Four.
Spring may feel like an eternity away, but with every passing second, it’s getting closer. Louder.
Michigan State needed to take care of business against a Rutgers team mired in a brutal season. But context matters. The Spartans were coming off a West Coast trip, followed by an almost 50-point win back home, then right back on the road to the East Coast—all before returning to East Lansing for the biggest game of the season to date against the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines.
So the question loomed: Was this a trap game?
Tom Izzo and the Spartans knew what was ahead. They also knew what was at stake.
Early on, Rutgers put together strong offensive possessions. For a team that entered the night ranked in the bottom 300 nationally in shooting, the Scarlet Knights were patient, confident, and finding quality looks. That, combined with poor shot selection from Michigan State, had the Spartans trailing early. Down as many as eight, the trap game started to feel very real.
Rutgers had made just five three-pointers total in its previous game. They hit five threes against Michigan State in the first ten and a half minutes.
The Scarlet Knights weren’t just scarlet—they were red hot. Meanwhile, the green and white stood for “go ahead and give the ball away.” Michigan State committed five turnovers to Rutgers’ zero in the opening ten minutes. A problem that had plagued the Spartans earlier in the season—one that seemed to be on the mend—returned like a pimple on prom night at the absolute worst time.
Michigan State found itself down 11 points with under five minutes to go in the first half. Fears and Kohler were both on the bench with two fouls. It was the largest deficit the Spartans had faced in Big Ten play all season.
They looked out of sync. Out of whack. Maybe their minds were already on the Wolverines. Maybe they were thinking about the Jersey Shore. Whatever it was, it wasn’t basketball.
The Spartans trailed 37–28 at halftime—their largest halftime deficit of the year. The defense was solid. Rutgers’ offense was simply better. Michigan State’s offense wasn’t bad; the ball just refused to go in the hoop.
Rutgers opened the second half the same way it closed the first, drilling a three to push the lead to a game-high 12. Michigan State, a second-half team all season, knew the task ahead would be a brutal 20 minutes. Every time the Spartans chipped away, Rutgers had an answer. The pace slowed, but the clock felt like it was moving at double speed.
With 14 minutes remaining, Michigan State trailed by ten—in both points and turnovers. Twelve for the Spartans, just two for Rutgers. A clear crack in the armor.
There was a brief moment of desperation from Michigan State. It was ugly. But the Spartans regained some clarity and pulled the deficit back to single digits. That didn’t last long. A defensive lapse allowed Rutgers to reassert control, stretching the lead back to ten with ten minutes remaining.
As the Spartans ignored General Ackbar’s advice and convinced themselves this wasn’t a trap, Rutgers did everything possible to prove that it was.
Michigan State pulled within five with under seven minutes to go, and every Spartan fan could see the Undertaker sitting up in the casket. It wasn’t pretty, but “just get the job done” felt like enough. Rutgers had other ideas.
With under four minutes to play and Michigan State trailing by eight, hope was fading fast. Then Jeremy Fears found Coen Carr in the corner with the shot clock expiring, and Carr buried a massive three to pull the Spartans within five.
Still, the best defensive team in the league continued to struggle against one of the worst shooting teams in the conference. Michigan State needed help—bad Rutgers shots paired with near-perfect Spartan possessions.
Just as it looked like MSU might pull within one possession, Cooper was stripped. Fears was forced to foul on the other end—his fourth of the game—and Rutgers pushed the lead back to seven with under three minutes to go.
Finally, with under two minutes remaining, Fears found a lane and finished through contact for a colossal bucket, pulling Michigan State within three. An offensive foul by Rutgers’ Zrno followed, and on the ensuing possession, Fears put the game in his hands again. Another fearless drive. Another and-one. The 89 percent free-throw shooter buried it, tying the game with one minute to go.
Rutgers responded by hitting two free throws. Kohler answered with a three from the top of the key that rattled off the front rim. Michigan State fouled on the rebound, and Rutgers split the pair, keeping the door open.
Down three, 70–67, the Spartans still had life.
The final seconds became a chess match. With 13 seconds left, Michigan State trailed by three. Fears drove as if he was ready to let the clock bleed, then—at the last possible moment—fired a pass to the corner, like Charlie Conway dishing to Goldberg at the horn.
Divine Ugochukwu caught it. Let it fly.
Nothing but net.
Michigan State had erased the deficit. The trap had been sprung—but not shut.
We were headed to overtime.
The Spartans opened the extra five minutes by taking their first lead since early in the first half. Two free throws gave Michigan State a two-point edge that held for the first two minutes of overtime.
The Spartans’ defense, which had looked as lost as Tom Hanks in Cast Away all night, finally found its footing. Rutgers had worn down its prey. After forcing a bad shot, Michigan State secured the rebound, and Jaxon Kohler completed a three-point play to give the Spartans a five-point lead with just over two minutes remaining.
The teams traded baskets, and with under a minute to go, Michigan State found itself up seven as Rutgers fans began heading for the exits.
The Spartans held serve the rest of the way, securing their 19th win of the season.
What felt doomed from the beginning became a testament to a battle-tested Michigan State team. A team built like a football team, knowing that no matter the style of game or the circumstances, if you stay true to who you are, you can overcome even the darkest moments. These are the lessons learned in January that prepare a team for the wars of March and April.
Jeremy Fears finished with an incredible 29 points and nine assists. Cooper added 12 points and 14 rebounds. Kohler chipped in 12 points, while Coen Carr rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 points and eight rebounds. Ugochukwu’s nine points and Scott’s seven did not go unnoticed.
The Spartans will take this wake-up call and look in the mirror as the biggest game of the year awaits Friday night against the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines.