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Michigan State Basketball: Preview, prediction vs. Rutgers in Week 5

By Connor Muldowney

EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 3: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Breslin Center on December 3, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - DECEMBER 3: Nick Ward #44 of the Michigan State Spartans reacts during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Breslin Center on December 3, 2017 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball will play its first true road test on Tuesday night and here’s everything you need to know for the matchup with Rutgers.

Opening Big Ten play earlier than ever against Nebraska on Sunday, Michigan State needed to gauge its potential against a squad in its own league. The Spartans ran the Cornhuskers out of the gym with an 86-57 win, but Tom Izzo still wasn’t pleased.

Must Read: MSU Basketball: Report card for win over Nebraska in Week 4

In fact, he went on to say that his team wasn’t aggressive enough and he wants to see that change immediately. Tuesday night’s road game against Rutgers — MSU’s first true road game of the year — is a good opportunity for the green and white to makes fixes.

Rutgers is 6-2 on the season and slightly improved from a year ago, but this team is still far from where it needs to be in order to contend in the Big Ten. The Spartans will look to hand the Scarlet Knights their second Big Ten loss in as many games with a win on Tuesday.

Here’s how you can watch Tuesday night’s Michigan State vs. Rutgers game:

Date: Tuesday, Dec. 5
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Location: Piscataway, N.J.
Venue: Louis Brown Athletic Center
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: BTN2Go

Keys to victory

Rutgers is a poor shooting team, so Michigan State needs to show that same defensive intensity it has over the past five games and make the Scarlet Knights work for each bucket. Michigan State allows just a 33 percent shooting clip inside the arc, and that needs to continue on Tuesday night. Moreover, don’t let the Scarlet Knights get open around the perimeter.

Offensively, getting Miles Bridges more involved is important, in my opinion. He’s been hovering around the 12-15 point range since returning from his one-game absence due to an ankle injury, but he hasn’t had a Bridges-like game in what seems like a month. Getting him back into the swing of things will be crucial for long-term success.

Rutgers players to watch

The Scarlet Knights aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut, averaging 73 points per game and shooting just 41 percent from the field, but they have a strong defense, allowing just 56 points per game — second in the nation. On top of that, they know how to rebound, grabbing 46 per contest which is also good for No. 2 in college basketball. Here’s who to watch for.

  • Corey Sanders — 12.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists
  • Geo Baker — 11.5 points, 3.1 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.0 steals
  • Deshawn Freeman — 11.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals
  • Eugene Omoruyi — 10.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 53% FG rate
  • Issa Thiam — 8.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 46% FG rate

As you can see, even the guards know how to rebound for the Scarlet Knights. No one, however, has that great of a field goal percentage outside of Omoruyi.

Prediction

Michigan State is going to break the mold a little bit against the Scarlet Knights. They allow just 56 points per game and have held three opponents to under 40 points so far this season (unheard of), but the power conference teams they have played have each scored over 78. The Spartans will get strong showings out of Miles Bridges, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward en route to a 22-point win, handing Rutgers its third straight loss.

Final Score: Michigan State 85, Rutgers 63

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