"I’d say that even though it seems like our offense, I’d say our defense has to improve a little bit,” Izzo said, referring to the Spartans' rebounding and free throw shooting. “Then we got to get our lineup straight. It’s been a little bit of a chaotic part of it figuring out how to get two guys in there and one of our main three has not played real well and has got to play better.”

Izzo was referring to 6 foot, 6 inch sophomore forward Aaron Henry as one of the big three who hasn’t been stepping up to the plate. Henry shined with consistency in the 2019 NCAA tournament, but has struggled this season, playing 22 minutes but doing next to nothing against Duke, scoring just two points.

“It’s kind of on me.” Henry said. “I’ve got to be better for us to be successful and I get that. I'm going to get there and when I do I'm going to look back at this and say ‘I said it then.’”

As for the Scarlet Knights, they are 6-2 on their season, with one of their victories coming against Stephen F. Austin, the same team that stunned Duke and broke the Blue Devils' streak of 150 straight wins against non-conference opponents at home.

“They're a good defensive team,” sophomore forward Gabe Brown said. “They can run, they’ve got really good players that have improved from last year to this year ... they’ve got some real good guys.”

Rutgers ranks third in the Big Ten for blocks (5.5), steals (7.4) and turnovers forced (15.4) and is fourth in scoring defense (61.3). Their defensive dominance was compared to Duke’s by Spartan junior forward Xavier Tillman, highlighting the way the Scarlet Knights “jump gaps ... get steals and run the fast break.”

Scarlet Knight junior guard Geo Baker has led the team to their defensive rankings. Baker leads Big Ten guards in blocks (1.0) and is sixth in steals (1.6).

Sophomore guard Ron Harper Jr., the son of former NBA guard Ron Harper, leads the Scarlet Knights in scoring at 13.3 points per game.

Michigan State is 9-0 against Rutgers, and will look to continue this streak Sunday night.