When the schedule was released ahead of this season and Michigan State basketball found out who its home and road opponents were, it felt like the Spartans dodged a plethora of bullets.
Michigan State didn't have to play on the road against Indiana, Wisconsin, Oregon, or Purdue which means that it would dodge some of the toughest venues in the Big Ten. There was a sneaky-tough road matchup that appeared near the end of January that caught my eye: Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights signed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation headlined by Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey and were projected to be one of the best teams in the conference, even beginning the season ranked No. 25. Playing at The RAC wouldn't be easy but it would test the Spartans' toughness.
Then it was announced that the game would take place at Madison Square Garden. Some Michigan State fans breathed a sigh of relief that they wouldn't have to watch the Spartans deal with the home crowd at The RAC and there would be a healthy amount of Michigan State fans in New York to cheer on the green and white.
Yet somehow we all seemed to have forgotten that Madison Square Garden may as well be The RAC at this point. Michigan State is just 4-13 under Tom Izzo at MSG which has been a house of horrors.
The most recent memory of Madison Square Garden was in the 2023 NCAA Tournament when the Spartans lost an overtime heartbreaker to Kansas State in the Sweet 16 which was one of the best games of the season. It still ended in heartbreak -- much like the 2014 NCAA Tournament loss at MSG to UConn.
During that 2022-23 season which resulted in the Sweet 16 loss to Kansas State, Michigan State played Rutgers at Madison Square Garden as well and lost another heartbreaker after leading at the half. Michigan State was winning that game against 15-7 Rutgers with under 10 minutes left. That ended in a heartbreaking 61-55 loss.
Madison Square Garden has had Izzo's number but this team feels different.
And as Izzo said to his team numerous times: "Be different."