Michigan State Basketball: 3 positives from blowout win over Rutgers

Michigan State basketball seems to be back on track with two straight wins. What went right for the Spartans on Tuesday night?

Well, this looks much more normal.

After a three-game losing streak that saw Michigan State drop games to Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Minnesota by margins that were not all that close, the Spartans have emerged from the grave that many had prematurely put them in.

A win on the road against an abysmal Nebraska team may not have told us much about this Spartan squad in the long term, but a big win at home against a top-20 opponent is much more telling. This team is no doubt back.

Now, Rutgers has dropped two straight after a tremendous start to the season, but we shouldn’t use that to discount this game at all. Rutgers is good. Pretty dang good. They’re in the top 20, for crying out loud. But they did not look good at all against MSU in the Breslin.

They couldn’t buy a bucket, whether it was at the free throw line or behind the arc, and even despite Michigan State turning the ball over a ridiculous amount, did not capitalize on the Spartan’s less-than-ideal first half performance. But hey, a win is a win. You’d rather win ugly than lose pretty, right?

A lot went right for Tom Izzo’s team in this game. A lot went wrong. But for now, let’s focus on the positives, because we deserve to after that rough stretch of games.

Let’s take a look at three things Michigan State did well in their blowout win.