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Michigan State Basketball: 3 takeaways from huge win over No. 16 Rutgers

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 5, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Aaron Henry (0) gets defended by Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Montez Mathis (10) during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 5, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Aaron Henry (0) gets defended by Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Montez Mathis (10) during the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michigan State’s Aaron Henry, right, shoots as Rutgers’ Myles Johnson defends during the first half on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. At right, Rutgers’ Geo Baker looks on.210105 Msu Rutgers 036a
Michigan State’s Aaron Henry, right, shoots as Rutgers’ Myles Johnson defends during the first half on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. At right, Rutgers’ Geo Baker looks on.210105 Msu Rutgers 036a /

2. Aaron Henry is a problem

Michigan State was reeling after a third straight loss, a 25-point clunker at Minnesota. Tom Izzo said something that was incredibly honest, and it was true at the time: this team doesn’t have an alpha dog.

Aaron Henry didn’t like hearing that.

How did he respond? Instead of folding and going back into that shell that seemed to land him in the doghouse over the past few years, he stepped up and became the alpha dog.

Henry not only stepped up his defensive effort, but he found his touch again. He shot 10-for-16 with a career-high 27 points against Nebraska. How did he follow that up? Another 20-point game on 8-of-13 shooting with eight rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist. And he played some of his best defense of the season, if not his entire career.

If this kind of play continues, Henry is going to be an All-Big Ten first-teamer and he’s going to get calls from the NBA like he was hoping for last year.

Henry has become a problem for the rest of the Big Ten again.

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