Michigan State basketball: 3 keys to victory vs. Rutgers

Michigan State basketball is getting a “get right” game against Rutgers on Sunday afternoon. Here’s what the Spartans must do.

Michigan State basketball welcomes the Rutgers Scarlet Knights to the Breslin Center on Sunday at noon. This matchup is crucial for the Spartans who can’t afford to fall to 1-5 in conference play.

Thankfully for the Spartans, this Rutgers team isn’t as good as it’s been in recent years. The Scarlet Knights (9-6, 1-3) do however feel good entering this game after getting their first Big Ten win in their last game against Indiana. But the road has not been friendly to them and the Spartans need to take advantage of that.

Here are my three keys for Michigan State basketball to come away with a win against Rutgers.

1. Defend, defend, defend

This game will be an easy win if the Spartans lock in defensively. Rutgers does not have someone who can beat them on their own as they only have three guys averaging double figures this season. If I had to pick one player to key in on defensively, it’d probably be senior forward Mawot Mag. He’s only played in seven games this season, but he has been dominant recently. He’s scored in double figures the last three games, all against Big Ten opponents, including a 24-point outburst against Iowa.

But the reason defense is so important in this game is because Rutgers’ offense hasn’t been good this year. They are No. 307 in the country in scoring offense, only averaging 68.3 points per game. That doesn’t mean they aren’t a capable team offensively, but they really shouldn’t be able to score a lot against MSU. I’d hate for this to be the game where everything finally clicks offensively for them, so the Spartans need to key in defensively to prevent that from happening. If MSU can keep them under 70 points, I like the Spartans’ chances.

2. Controlling Clifford Omoruyi

Rutgers star center Clifford Omoruyi will be a handful in this game. Omoruyi is averaging nearly a double-double this season with 10.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. This includes a dominant game against Stonehill where he had 17 points and 17 rebounds. I don’t care what team you’re playing, that’s an impressive stat line.

Omoruyi can score a lot of points at a time, hitting double figures eight times this season including 25 points against Long Island University. However, all of his high scoring games have come against low-level opponents. The most he has scored this season against a Power Six opponent is 11 points against Seton Hall. This is the only time he’s hit double figures against a Power Six team.

But what he doesn’t contribute in scoring he makes up for with rebounding the ball. He has had at least nine rebounds in five of the Scarlet Knights’ last seven games including 11 against Indiana a few nights ago. Mady Sissoko will be the main Spartan assigned to defending Omoruyi, but his focus will have to be more on keeping Clifford off the glass where he is the most dangerous.

3. Rebounding

This was a key for MSU against Illinois on Thursday, and it will be a key again in this one. Rutgers is not a strong shooting team and it averages less than 70 points per game. Do you know what that means? A lot of misses on their shots that the Spartans need to rebound.

The worst thing Michigan State can do in this game is give up a lot of offensive rebounds. Rutgers may be a bad shooting team, but if it gets a lot of second chances, that’s how it can score above its low average.

Michigan State is also at its best when it can run in transition. However, it can’t do that unless it gets the rebound first. So it all starts with solid team defense, corralling the glass, and getting out fast in transition.