Michigan State Basketball: 5 takeaways from resilient win over Rutgers

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Matt McQuaid #20 of the Michigan State Spartans celebrates his three-point basket in the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Breslin Center on February 20, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

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EAST LANSING, MI – FEBRUARY 20: Xavier Tilman #23 of the Michigan State Spartans shoots the ball while defended by Montez Mathis #23 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in the first half at Breslin Center on February 20, 2019 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

3. Xavier Tillman can do some damage in Nick Ward’s place

Michigan State’s first full game without Nick Ward didn’t start the way the Spartans had hoped. Rutgers built an 11-point lead before the Spartans stormed back to extend their lead to as much as 16 before the Scarlet Knights trimmed it to 11 at the final buzzer.

The Spartans didn’t have much of a post presence without Ward as Tillman struggled early in the game to get anything going in the post-up game against a sizable Rutgers defense, but that all changed in the second half.

Tillman found his groove and finished with a career-high 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds in 33 minutes. He’s used to playing about 20 minutes, but showed that he can hold his own in 30-plus minutes and he seemed to get better as the game progressed.

It may be difficult to replace Ward’s 15 points and seven rebounds, but Tillman did a heck of a job, topping those numbers and looking like a more mature player in the process.

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