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Michigan State Basketball: Report card from blowout win over No. 16 Rutgers

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 5, 2021; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Aaron Henry (0) cheers on his team from the bench during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 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) cheers on his team from the bench during the second half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Needing a win over Rutgers to prove it belongs in the contender conversation, Michigan State basketball blew the doors off the Scarlet Knights.

Tom Izzo was looking for his alpha dog. Fresh off a third straight loss — this one by 25 to Minnesota — the Michigan State head coach didn’t have the answers in his postgame interview like he usually did. He just admitted that the team was without a true leader.

Last year there were two: Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman. Now that both of them are gone, there has been no one to take over on either side of the ball.

That was until a win over Nebraska seemed to change the ‘alpha dog’ outlook. A changed at point guard seemed to bring out the best in Aaron Henry as he posted a career-high 27 points against Nebraska and then added 20 against No. 16 Rutgers, leading to back-to-back wins for the first time in weeks.

After starting 0-3 and looking lost in Big Ten play, the Spartans are now 2-3 with a win over a ranked opponent and momentum heading into a matchup with Purdue later this week.

Michigan State’s win over Rutgers was a breath of fresh air in a shaky up-and-down season which saw the Spartans start 6-0 and jump all the way to the top-five nationally before losing three straight. Back on a winning streak, it seems like the team is finally playing to its potential.

With that being said, what does the report card look like from Tuesday night’s 68-45 win?

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