"We were just playing," Valentine said. "When we were driving, they were really collapsing and kickouts were wide open, especially on the rebounds, kickouts were wide open, so we took advantage."

They got it going early, too, and MSU senior guard Bryn Forbes was catalyst of a lot of it, as he connected on all six of his 3-pointers in the first half 

However, despite the high volume of long range shots the Spartans have been hitting lately, MSU head basketball coach Tom Izzo was quick to point out a different part of the game where he feels MSU was lacking Sunday night -- the defense.

"Well excited and disappointed," Izzo said. "When you make 17 three's or whatever we made, you've got to be excited but the old adage, as soon as you make some shots, you decide you don't want to guard anybody."

That's almost exactly what happened Sunday night. The Spartans jumped out to a 29-13 early lead, with 7-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc. 

From there, the Scarlet Knights would use a 12-3 run to cut the Spartan lead to seven, 32-25 at the 7:14 mark of the first half. It was at this point Izzo called a timeout. And it was in some of MSU's huddles during this time, that Izzo said Valentine got into some of his teammates for their lack of effort on defense.

"Our defense wasn't what it should have been," Valentine said. "It just kind of came out. I let out some frustrations and guys responded they way they should."

The Spartans stymied the Rutgers run and took a 44-33 lead into the break and in the second half, continued their hot shooting to take the game 96-62.

Junior MSU guard Eron Harris was one of the players Izzo has been praising for his defense in MSU's last few games. Nevertheless, Izzo felt he might have taken a step back against Rutgers.

"We can't make mistakes like that," Harris said. "Defense is going to be the most important thing. If you can't stop anybody, you're not going to be able to win so we're trying to contend to be the best team in the nation this year, this season so we recognize that. We've got to focus in. You've got to be a little tougher mentally from that standpoint. We've got a week of practice to prepare for Michigan and that's what we're going to do."

For now, Izzo said it's about focusing on getting better at all aspects of the game.

"We're getting better," Izzo said. "But don't be fooled by making shots. Making shots is good, but as fast as we made a bunch, we missed a bunch. And as fast as that lead grew, that lead shrunk. It's making shots and guarding people. And you do the two of those things, it gets you a hell of a basketball team."