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Michigan State Basketball: 3 things we learned vs Rutgers

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 4, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Eron Harris (14) and Michigan State Spartans forward Nick Ward (44) and Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) laugh on the bench during the second half of a game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2017; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans guard Eron Harris (14) and Michigan State Spartans forward Nick Ward (44) and Michigan State Spartans guard Miles Bridges (22) laugh on the bench during the second half of a game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports /
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What did we learn from Michigan State basketball’s third straight Big Ten victory to start the conference season?

It took a half, but Michigan State basketball found a way to finally pull away from Rutgers after letting the Scarlet Knights hang around Wednesday night.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: Game-by-game predictions for January

With the win, Michigan State improves to 11-5 on the season and 3-0 in conference play, looking for win No. 4 on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia against Penn State. This gives the Spartans four straight wins and seven in the past eight and they’re starting to look more and more like a tournament team.

The win was nice and should be a big confidence-booster for this squad. Let’s take a look at what we learned from the 28-point victory.

1. Eron Harris is back on track, and that’s great news

Eron Harris has been in Tom Izzo’s doghouse for the past couple of games and that was never more obvious after he scored four points in just 14 minutes in a win over Northwestern. However, he cracked the starting rotation and finished with 24 points in 19 minutes and looked to have his shot back. If he stays on the right track for the remainder of the year, the Spartans will be very hard to stop.

Heck, throw Matt McQuaid’s name into this as well. The sophomore sharp-shooter finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 field goals and re-gained his confidence.

2. Nick Ward won’t be negatively affected by Bridges’ return

One of the things worth watching on Wednesday night was the effect Miles Bridges’ return would potentially have on Nick Ward. The freshman big man had been dominating the post without Bridges in the lineup and with another scorer in the post, would his role diminish? Nope. Ward actually benefitted from having another body for defenders to keep an eye on. He finished with 15 points, six rebounds and four blocks. The Spartans are going to be a dangerous team when Miles is healthy.

Related Story: MSU Basketball: 5 bold predictions for January

3. Flashes of last year’s team were shown

Don’t call me crazy just yet. No, this team isn’t anywhere near the cohesiveness or effectiveness of last year’s, but the way they played on Wednesday night looked an awful lot like the 2015-16 version of Michigan State basketball. Just look at the shooting and assist numbers. The Spartans made 11-of-22 three pointers, finished with 93 points and had 26 assists to just seven for Rutgers. This team is starting to gel at the right time.

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