The biggest impact fell on the Spartan seniors, who were forced to skip their in-game floor-kissing tradition.

“We didn’t play very well,” MSU head coach Tom Izzo said. “I blame the first half on the players and the second half on me. But the good news is, I think the players are more upset than the coach, and that's always a good sign.”

The start of the game was filled with ugly basketball. Unforced turnovers were committed, bad shots were taken and missed, players stepped out of bounds and the Scarlet Knights were successful in penetrating to the basket. The Spartans were jumpy and played like it. By halftime, MSU found itself clinging to a 31-30 lead.

This ugly style of play was fixed in the early minutes of the second half. MSU cleaned up the turnovers, found success underneath the basket with guard penetration and post player advancement and strengthened its defense effort as a whole. Back-to-back-to-back alley-oops sent the Breslin Center into a frenzy and, with momentum building, MSU surged to a 19-point lead with 6:17 left.

Then came the finish.

Leading 83-68 with 1:19 remaining, Izzo began to substitute his seniors for the annual floor-kissing tradition.

Guards Trey Fort, Denham Wojcik and Nick Sanders were the first seniors to enter the game, joining seniors Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler on the court. Their goal was to hold onto MSU’s 15-point lead. If they could accomplish this goal, they would be kissing the Spartan logo while the game was still taking place — a tradition that has been a staple to MSU for almost three decades. 

But Rutgers was not finished. The Scarlet Knights had no interest in the tradition.

Immediately following the substitutions, Rutgers guard Tariq Francis converted a four-point play. A quick baseline turnover then allowed guard Kaden Powers to hit a three-pointer, cutting the MSU lead to eight with 1:09 remaining.

As quickly as they were subbed in, Fort, Wojcik and Sanders were subbed out. 

“It wasn't like the guys I put in did everything wrong,” Izzo said. “Rutgers just made their shots. So no, I didn't like the way it went, but there's nothing I could do about it. The players understood and that's why I was so appreciative that so many people stayed.”

With momentum on Rutgers’ side, MSU struggled. Coupled with a Scarlet Knights press that MSU fought to break and missed Spartan free throws, Rutgers clawed back and trailed just 89-87 with five seconds remaining.

This was as close as Rutgers would come to completing a comeback, as MSU sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. sealed the game by hitting both free throws.

“This is physically the toughest team we played all year,” Izzo said. “They were quick and they were tough.”

While the Spartans escaped with a shaky 91-87 victory, the logo-kissing tradition had to wait until after the final horn.

Fans still stayed and watched, and the seniors had the chance to hug coaches and friends, but performing the tradition during the game, as in many years prior, was taken from them.

With MSU securing a triple-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, the Spartans now look to finish the regular season strong with a rivalry game in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines.

Tipoff is Sunday, March 8 at 4:30 p.m. at Crisler Center.