“I’m happy we found a way to win,” Izzo said. “Some teams are finding a way to lose.”

Now they’re onto Rutgers, one of the tougher outs in a conference that has no true easy games. Izzo said he expects this game against the Scarlet Knights (12-9, 6-5) to be a “rock fight” due to Rutgers's toughness and versatility. 

Michigan State’s most recent matchup against Rutgers on Jan. 28, 2021, marked one of the lowest points of last year’s dismal season. After coming off a long pause brought on by COVID-19 issues within the program, the Spartans' offense cratered in a 67-37 loss, one that Izzo said doesn’t bring any extra motivation to this upcoming matchup.

“There’s revenge when you lose by five and didn’t get a big rebound,” Izzo said. “When you lose by 100, there’s nothing you wanna do except destroy the tape, pretend it didn’t happen and leave the state of New Jersey.” 

Today, Rutgers is largely a veteran team with four upperclassmen in the starting lineup. The most notable of which is senior forward Ron Harper Jr., their go-to guy and leading scorer at 15.6 points per game. Harper is responsible for one of the most exciting finishes in college basketball this season when his near halfcourt buzzer-beating heave downed then top-ranked Purdue on Dec. 9, 2021, to give the Scarlet Knights a coveted statement win. 

In the frontcourt, senior guard Geo Baker (11.6 points per game) runs the offense while junior guard Paul Mulcahy (eight points per game) provides another key scoring option. Izzo lauded Mulcahy’s versatility and toughness in light of his career-high 31 point effort in a 79-78 overtime loss to Northwestern on Tuesday and noted how it reflects the overall nature of the Scarlet Knights. 

“One of the things I love,” he said, “is (Head Coach Steve Pikiell’s) got (the) versatility to move people all around. His best shooter could be Harper and yet, Baker, I’ve seen him have unbelievable nights. He’s probably saying the same thing I am—he’d like a little more consistency out of his team.” 

Sophomore center Clifford Omoruyi (11.1 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game) is the man in the middle for Rutgers, providing a strong interior presence that’s needed in the Big Ten. From there, senior guard Caleb McConnell rounds out the starting lineup as a defensive stalwart, leading the team in steals with two per game.

Rutgers also has one of the better defenses in the conference, one that’s adept at taking away scoring opportunities in transition. Sophomore guard A.J. Hoggard said they’ve focused in practice on making sure their halfcourt offense is as crisp as can be heading into this matchup while Izzo said they’re looking to make sure they get their breakaway set-up done in the correct sequence of the game. 

“It’s not gonna be one for the meek and mild, I can promise you that,” Hoggard said. “Whatever that means, we’re going to still try to run the ball. But this time, we’re going to try to do it after we rebound instead of before we rebound it.”

Then there’s the arena. Although it’s formally known as Jersey Mike’s arena, Izzo called the RAC, the home of the Scarlet Knights, one of the great venues in college basketball and noted how tough it is to play there. With that in mind, Izzo said Michigan State has prepared accordingly, playing music in practice to try and simulate the intense environment in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He added that he expects it to be a “very good game” but believes his team is up for the challenge. 

“We got our work cut out for us,” he said. “But at the same time, I think we’re going in there ready to play.”