Rutgers @ Michigan St. preview

Rutgers at Michigan St

Last Meeting ( Dec 8, 2019 ) Rutgers 65, Michigan St 77

Michigan State's first Big Ten Conference victory of the season in four tries did not satisfy head coach Tom Izzo. It did allow everyone connected with the program to breathe a sigh of relief.

The 23rd-ranked Spartans defeated Nebraska 84-77 on Saturday after losing their first three Big Ten games for the first time since 2001-02. They will try to carry that momentum into their home game against No. 15 Rutgers on Tuesday.

The Spartans (7-3, 1-3) held the lead against the Cornhuskers from the midpoint of the first half but had trouble closing out the game. They needed a Josh Langford putback and some free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.

"That was a good win, but it's not good enough," Izzo said. "When we have a 17-point lead, you've got to learn to step on them. We did play good in stretches, so now we're starting to play some good stretches, but we just need to do it more consistently. We won our first game and we're 1-0 in 2021. That's how I'm going to have to look at it for now."

Aaron Henry's performance stood out. He scored a career-high 27 points after scoring a combined 34 points on 39.4 percent shooting in Michigan State's first three conference games.

"I thought it was the best game of his life here," Izzo said.

Henry knocked down 10 of his 16 field-goal attempts against Nebraska, including a trio of 3-pointers. He had made a total of four 3-pointers in the team's first nine games.

"I was just a small piece of the puzzle," Henry said. "I may have scored more than other nights and played one of my better nights, but I'm a team guy. I'm all about that and the focus (Saturday) was just to get a win; anything we can do to get a win. That's anybody that comes to Michigan State."

Izzo tinkered with his lineup, giving freshman point guard A.J. Hoggard his first career start. Hoggard only took three shots but he dished out five assists and made just one turnover in 24 minutes.

"A.J. played pretty good for his first start but he's got to play defense, too," Izzo said. "That's what we're working on."

Rutgers (7-2, 3-2 Big Ten) is coming off an agonizing 77-75 loss to Iowa on Saturday. The Hawkeyes made three free throws in the final 17 seconds, sandwiching a Scarlet Knights turnover by Myles Johnson with five seconds remaining.

"We played really hard, we had chances, they were just one possession better," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said.

The Scarlet Knights were outscored 18-4 at the free throw line and only made 33 percent (4 of 12) of their foul shots.

"What we took away from (Saturday) is we've got to make foul shots," Rutgers guard Ron Harper Jr. said. "You are not going to win a lot of basketball games like that. So it is on everybody in the locker room to keep getting better."

Harper scored 13 points against Iowa, nine below his season average. He scored nine points in the lone meeting with the Spartans last season, a 77-65 Michigan State victory.

The schools are scheduled to meet a second time this season in Piscataway, N.J., on Jan. 28.

--Field Level Media