Have you heard? Michigan State basketball won again.
The Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) haven't lost since before the holidays, winning 12 games in a row after that dreadful loss to Memphis back in November. They just picked up another big win on Saturday afternoon against a struggling Rutgers team, led by two freshman stars, to extend their lead in the Big Ten standings to two games.
Picking up a nice win at Madison Square Garden before heading back home to face Minnesota ahead of a tough stretch is a nice confidence-booster for this team.
The reason for all the success this season? The bench.
OK, so the bench isn't the only reason Michigan State has exceeded expectations to this point in the season, but it's a major reason and it proved that once again on Saturday afternoon.
Michigan State's bench scored 51 points and every player who played more than a minute at the end of the game (Gehrig Normand, Kur Teng) scored at least one basket. This now marks the 12th time this season in which 10-plus players have made shots, according to Jay Cuda.
Number of games this college basketball season in which 10+ different players made shots pic.twitter.com/tlcVG3shdj
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) January 25, 2025
Not only is that the bets mark in the country, but it's double what the next-closest team has done. Michigan State has had 12 occasions of 10-plus players scoring while Auburn, Florida State, Kansas, and Columbia are second with six such games.
And then there are 11 teams tied with five.
What does this prove? Well, it proves that Michigan State is the deepest team in the country and I don't really think it's close. The Spartans have had eight different leading scorers this season, too, which is almost unheard of in college basketball.
Will Izzo's deepest team in a decade be able to make a Final Four run? Let's hope so.