1/29/2021 basketball Edit

Three Thoughts on Rutgers Basketball's big win over Michigan State

Craig Epstein

Staff Writer

Coming off their first win in Assembly Hall when they defeated Indiana 74-70, Rutgers (9-6, 5-6 Big Ten) picked up another first by beating Michigan State (8-5, 2-5 Big Ten) 67-37 to secure the program’s first-ever win over the Spartans.

Here are three thoughts after the game.

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Myles The Monster

If one is looking as to how Rutgers won this game they can start and stop with Myles Johnson. Whether it was on the offensive or defensive end, the big man was all over the court and took over the game to the tune of 13 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks.

“You guys see what kind of elite defender that he is, but he does a lot of things for us,” Head Coach Steve Pikiell said in his postgame press conference. “He’s a good screener, he’s a good passer, keeps basketballs alive, he can really guard, he’s really gotten to the point where he can guard almost any position.”

This was the type of game that shows if Johnson was not considered one of the best big men in the conference, he will be going forward as he has been a constant force for the Scarlet Knights since the beginning of the season. Combine that with freshman center Cliff Omoruyi continuing to give significant minutes, Rutgers should have a quality one-two punch in the big man department.

Rutgers’ Defense Stifles The Spartans

Despite not shooting well on shots outside of the paint, Rutgers put up a historic defensive performance as they held Michigan State to their lowest point total (37) since 2008. This was also Rutgers’ largest margin of victory in a conference game since Feb. 15, 2004 when they defeated Virginia Tech 85-52 as a member of the Big East.

“Our guys were locked in and we've had signs of being a good defensive team,” Pikiell added. “Today we kind of put it together and everyone contributed; our length, steals, blocks, we had a little bit of everything, but our guys were locked in and they were connected.”

In addition, the Scarlet Knights out rebounded the Spartans 42-33 and forced 21 turnovers with 14 of them coming through steals while blocking seven shots. Rutgers also shot about 83 percent from the charity stripe as they sank 10 of their 12 free throw attempts.

Another Great Game From Geo Baker

Following his 19-point performance against Indiana, Geo Baker offered the Scarlet Knights an all-around stellar game as he finished the matchup with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, and a career-high five steals.

“When he defends like that he really helps us and in the last two games his defense has been outstanding and we need him,” Pikiell said. “He’s a very good defender and he’s very knowledgeable about our sets and the different things we want to do defensively and then, in turn, it makes him connected on the offensive end in all our sets that we try to run.”

If his last two games are any indication, it is safe to assume Baker is all the way back which is news that could not have come any sooner for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers is going to depend on players like Baker and Johnson down the stretch of the season so to have them both performing at a high level right now should bode well for Pikiell’s squad going forward.

“Those two guys have been through the most and they’ve seen the growth of the program,” Pikiell said of Baker and Johnson. “When those two are locked in the way that they were today then it makes us a much harder team to play against.”

Rutgers will look to make it three in a row when they travel to Welsh-Ryan Arena to take on Northwestern on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on BTN.