The Big Ten standings are looking favorable for Michigan State basketball these days.
After picking up an 81-74 win over Rutgers on Saturday afternoon, the Spartans extended their 1.5-game lead in the conference to two games thanks to a Michigan loss on Friday night at Purdue. The Spartans are 8-0 in the Big Ten and there are no teams with fewer than two losses in conference play to this point in the season.
Michigan State controlled the game after falling behind 10-3 early on and then storming back to take a 23-15 lead and cruising to a win at Madison Square Garden, lifting the curse.
Before Saturday's win, Tom Izzo was 4-13 at Madison Square Garden as head coach and that record improves slightly because this team feels like it's breaking a lot of stereotypes that have built up over the past four seasons. This team has felt a lot different than the previous four because of the togetherness and the fact that it's probably the deepest team in a decade-plus.
The Spartans now have a two-game lead in the Big Ten over Michigan and Purdue and the one team that I was worried about before last Sunday's win is now four games back (Illinois).
Izzo has to be thrilled that his team is playing as consistently as it has been this season on both ends of the floor although he'll tell you that the 3-point shooting is a concern as well as the defense in recent games.
Michigan State is now 17-2 on the season and 8-0 in the conference with a two-game lead.