Michigan State Basketball: Report card for comeback win over Rutgers

Michigan State basketball may have needed a comeback to beat Rutgers, but the Spartans got the job done. Who received the highest grade?

When Rutgers took an 11-point lead early in the second half, you could feel the crowd growing uneasy and the tension could have been sliced with a knife.

However, Michigan State answered the call and went on a huge run to regain the lead and it never looked back. In fact, the Spartans went on a 20-3 run to capture that lead back for the first time since the opening minutes of the game and then they built the lead up to 16 before eventually winning 71-60.

Tom Izzo got incredible play from a couple of his starters — Xavier Tillman and Cassius Winston — while the rest of his lineup played big minutes to secure the comeback win.

The Spartans didn’t have the cleanest report card, but they passed the Rutgers test.

Aaron Henry admitted that he’s hit a wall a couple of times during his freshman season, and you can’t blame him. It’s tough for first-year players to adjust to the college level in terms of speed and size differences from high school.

After scoring eight points against Wisconsin a couple of games back, it seems as if Henry has hit that wall again.

The freshman wing struggled against Rutgers, looking out of control almost every time he touched the ball on offense and driving the lane with no backup plan, leading to a turnover. He did finished with six points and only one turnover, but four of those came from free throws and he shot just 1-for-6 from the floor.

Although his offensive game was borderline offensive to everyone watching, he continues to defend well and those free throws were clutch.