Why Michigan State’s ability to forget their mistakes won them the game at Rutgers

Gritty.

That’s the word that came to mind following Michigan State’s 88–79 overtime victory at Rutgers on Tuesday night.

On a bitter 19-degree evening in Piscataway, it felt for long stretches like the Spartans would be the ones left out in the cold. No. 7 Michigan State (19–2, 9–1 Big Ten) trailed for most of the game against a Rutgers team (9–12, 2–8) that came out hot and showed no intention of cooling off.

The Scarlet Knights were firing early, hitting five of their first ten three-point attempts in the opening ten minutes — matching their total from an entire 40-minute game against Indiana earlier in the week. Michigan State didn’t help itself. The Spartans committed five turnovers in that same stretch, and Jeremy Fears Jr., Jaxon Kohler, and Jordan Scott were all forced to the bench early with two fouls apiece.

The issues compounded as the half wore on. Michigan State turned the ball over ten times in the first half and was outscored 17–0 on points off turnovers. Rutgers capitalized on every mistake, carrying a 38–27 lead into halftime.

The second half opened much like the first. It began to feel as though Michigan State might drop its third straight game at Rutgers’ home court. The Spartans struggled to string together defensive stops and lacked consistency on the offensive end. Then, facing their largest conference deficit of the season — down 12 — Michigan State finally began to stir.