V-Cast: Essence of Michigan State's program shone through in victory over Rutgers

On3 imageby:Paul Konyndyk01/19/23

PKonyndyk

East Lansing, Mich. – It may not be fair to call Michigan State’s game against Rutgers on Thursday night a must-win for the Spartans. Coming off back-to-back losses against two of the better teams in the Big Ten in Purdue and Illinois, Michigan State certainly needed win, and to get a 70-57 win over this Rutgers team means a lot.

Rutgers is not only the most physical team in the Big Ten the Scarlet Knights are also one of the best-coached ballclubs, and one of the biggest and most athletic teams in the Big Ten. To win this game and shoot 52 percent from three with Joey Hauser, Jaden Akins, Tyson Walker, and AJ Hoggard all hitting big shots is impressive.

The Spartans needed to shoot the ball as well as they did because Michigan State could not compete with Rutgers on the glass. The biggest detractor in this game for the Spartans was being outrebounded by 10 in this game. Not only were the Spartans outrebound by double-digits, they also gave up a season-high 18 offensive rebounds.

Afterward, SpartanMag.com staffers Jim Comparoni and Paul Konyndyk checked in from the court at Breslin Center for a post-game V-Cast.

Freshman center Jaxon Kohler recorded his first career double-double in this game.  He scored 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and added 11 rebounds in the win. Kohler also added three blocked shots.

Michigan State guards Akins, Walker, and Hoggard all reached double figures in scoring. The backcourt trio also combined for nine of Michigan State’s 12 threes in this game.

This was another rough outing for sophomore wing Pierre Brooks, who gave up an early three as Rutgers stormed out to a 13-5 lead early. Brooks also failed to box out an opponent, which drew the ire of Hall of Fame Head Coach Tom Izzo.

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