Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell pretty much nailed the game in his opening statement after his Scarlet Knights fell on the road at No. 10/11 Michigan State Wednesday night, 71-60, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing.
“Great environment here today. It was a really tough game for us. Michigan State did a great job on the backboards. Coach (Tom) Izzo is the best. I thought we could hang around for a bit. Free throws didn't help us. I think Cassius Winston is the best point guard in the league, and he played like it today,” the coach said.
The only thing missing was the poor 3-point shooting percentage (5-for-20 for 25 percent).
So, Izzo took care of that one.
“They haven't been shooting great, I don't know what they shot from the three tonight, 25 percent, but early on they made a couple,” Izzo said. “Like I said, I thought the game was won because we rebounded. We worked on it, we talked about it, we talked how good they are at it and I take my hat off to my team in that way and I give a lot of credit to Steve and his team for how they played.”
Michigan State out-rebounded Rutgers 45-31 and converted 20-of-22 foul shots compared to just 9-of-17 for the Scarlet Knights. Both statistics went a long way in determining the outcome of the game.
"We have to make more free throws. We're not a great free throw shooting team. Scoring points, that wasn't our problem tonight. We gave up too many points tonight and we can't get out-rebounded like that,” Pikiell said, “and we're one of the better rebounding teams in the country too. That's more of a problem for us. And four out of our top seven are freshmen. We'll keep going and we'll get better and better."
Winston also netted a game-high 28 points with eight assists and five rebounds.
“Winston is a hard guard to stay in front of. He made some plays, he got to the free-throw line. We didn't do a great job on screen coverage, so that hurt us. But he broke away and got some open threes. They got some second-chance shots on some kickouts,” Pikiell said. “He really hurt us in a six-minute stretch where we kind of lost it and they did a good job on the backboards getting second-chance opportunities. Credit them, that's why they are the best team in the league, and this is a tough place to play."
Rutgers used a 14-0 run that ballooned up to 21-5 in the first half to take a 10-point, 30-20 lead. It held a 32-25 advantage at halftime as well. Rutgers also started quickly out of the gate in the second half to give the Scarlet Knights their biggest lead at 11, but the Spartans made a huge comeback thanks to an 11-0, 29-5, or 37-10 run, however you want to call it, to regain control.
"That's a good basketball team. It's a forty-minute game. They are at home. They made some shots and got to the free throw line. They have good players,” Pikiell said. “I thought Cassius did a good job keeping his team together. It was a two-possession game always, then we went down with 12 minutes left, then they kept grinding us down.”
With momentum shifting Rutgers clinging to a three point lead, Michigan State grabbed four offensive rebounds in one possession and sharpshooter Matt McQuad drained a 3-pointer that tied the game. Rutgers needed a big defensive stop and to rebound on that possession and it didn't do either.
"That's what they do. It's not like we were surprised. We showed the team clip after clip after clip. It was only a matter of time,” Pikiell said of the offensive boards. “They are a great rebounding team. I thought we were a good job getting stops on those first possession, once we didn't give up transition. But, you have to finish the deal. They got on a bit of a roll."
Rutgers was searching for a win over the highest-ranked opponent on the road and it seemed like a prime opportunity given the fact that Michigan State was without two of its top three players in Joshua Langford and Nick Ward, but the Spartans aren’t the Spartans for nothing and it showed.
Aside from Winston, Xavier Tillman recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Geo Baker led Rutgers with 17 points while Ron Harper Jr. had 11.
"Coach Izzo is the main guy. As long as he is on the sideline, it doesn't matter who they put out there. Michigan State is Michigan State,” Pikiell said. “Their big guys played a lot, they are good players, and they rebound the heck of the basketball. Their system is in place. No matter who checks into the game they are going to play hard, they are going to rebound and they will be well coached. They have that culture and the best coach in the country. They play hard and they play the right way."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky
