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Michigan State basketball’s performance at Rutgers was flat-out disrespectful

By Connor Muldowney

PISCATAWAY, NJ - JANUARY 28: Ron Harper Jr. #24 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights grabs a rebound as Thomas Kithier #15 of the Michigan State Spartans defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Rutgers Athletic Center on January 28, 2021 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PISCATAWAY, NJ - JANUARY 28: Ron Harper Jr. #24 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights grabs a rebound as Thomas Kithier #15 of the Michigan State Spartans defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at Rutgers Athletic Center on January 28, 2021 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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Michigan State basketball and Tom Izzo should be flat-out embarrassed for their showing in Piscataway against Rutgers on Thursday night.

A few weeks ago, Michigan State landed some early punches against a then-ranked Rutgers team and then closed out with a 23-point win over the Scarlet Knights and all looked to be right with the world again as the Spartans got their mojo back.

Fast forward to Thursday night and you saw a completely different team.

Michigan State got punched in the mouth early, fell behind 15-0, and then punched back to pull within six at 26-20 at halftime. It looked like the Spartans got the momentum back, but forgot to come to play in the second half, falling behind 37-22 within minutes.

The Spartans never punched back. They gave up. They folded. They packed it in.

It was embarrassing to watch.

It was flat-out disrespectful. It was disrespectful to the fans, to former players, to themselves. This team showed a lack of fire, heard and effort in the second half when the score became slightly lopsided and they mailed it in. They didn’t show any heart or effort. They were turning the ball over every time down the floor, surrendering offensive rebounds left and right and missing wide open shots and taking more terrible ones.

Michigan State would score and then fail to get back and play defense.

Former teams would look at a performance like Thursday night’s loss at Rutgers and find some positives. This team didn’t show any positives. Former teams would have found this type of game disrespectful to every player that came before them. All the work put in just to show up and show little to no effort or toughness? Disrespectful.

Want to see some disrespectful stats?

  • Zero players in double figures (no one scored more than 7)
  • 19 turnovers
  • 1-for-5 from the free throw line
  • 16-for-56 from the floor
  • 4-for-20 from 3-point range
  • Out-rebounded 40-29
  • Allowed 13 offensive rebounds

As a fan, it’s OK to feel disrespected by this blowout loss at Rutgers because this team didn’t show up to play and stopped caring (it seemed) in the second half. That’s disrespectful to the program, the fans and the former players.

This team will be watching the NCAA Tournament from home this March.

Next. Way-too-early depth chart projection for 2021. dark

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