MBB Hosts No. 2/3 Michigan State Wednesday
Mar 01 | Men's Basketball
| Michigan State at Rutgers | |
| Date | Wednesday, March 2 |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| Location | Piscataway, N.J. | The RAC |
| Television | Big Ten Network |
| Radio | Rutgers IMG Radio Network - WOR (710) and WCTC (1450AM) Chris Carlin and Joe Boylan |
| Game Notes | Rutgers | Michigan State |
| Statistics | Rutgers | Michigan State | Big Ten Conference |
| Social Media | @RutgersMBB  | #RHoops | Facebook/RutgersMBB  |
Rutgers Game Notes
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - After playing two straight and three of its last four games on the road, Rutgers (6-23, 0-16) returns home to host No. 2/3 Michigan State (24-5, 11-5) in a 7 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday night. The Scarlet Knights have the opportunity to earn their highest ranked victory in program history, after defeating No. 4/4 Wisconsin at the RAC last season. It's "Swap for an R Shirt" night at the truncated pyramid, as fans can trade in a t-shirt from a different college for a Rutgers t-shirt in the lobby. The Bucks County Bungee Jumpers will perform at halftime.
The Scarlet Knights will be working to earn its initial B1G victory of the season, while the Spartans will looking for their fifth straight win and ninth in 10 games.
The contest will be televised live on BTN with Kevin Kugler calling the action and Dan Bonner providing the analysis. On the radio, the match-up will be broadcast live on the Rutgers IMG Sports Network, WOR 710 AM in New York & WCTC 1450 AM in New Brunswick. Chris Carlin will serve as play-by-play announcer and Joe Boylan will provide commentary. WRSU (88.7 FM) will also broadcast the game.
The game will mark the fourth meeting on the collegiate hardwood between RU and MSU, with the Spartans winning the prior three match-ups. Rutgers fell to No. 12/11 Michigan State, 96-62, at the Breslin Center on Jan. 31. The Spartans shot 53.1 percent behind the arc en route to tying their school record with 17 three-pointers. Mike Williams shot 8-of-14 to pace RU with 18 points, while Corey Sanders and Omari Grier contributed 17 points each. Last season, Rutgers dropped a 71-51 decision to Michigan State at the RAC. MSU utilized a 43-28 rebounding advantage and shot 51 percent (27-for-53) to earn the win. RU struggled to find it shot, depositing 29.1 percent (16-of-55) of its FGAs. The Spartans captured the initial meeting, 81-71, on Dec. 19, 1970 at the Lobo Classic in Albuquerque, N.M.
Rutgers dropped a 98-59 decision at Northwestern on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Jonathan Laurent posted 17 points, with 11 coming at the charity stripe, to pace the Scarlet Knights. Grier joined Laurent in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. The Wildcats made 54 percent (37-of-69) of their FGAs and an impressive 61 percent (17-of-28) from three-point range to earn the victory. Thirty-three of the home squad's 37 field goals came via an assist. Rutgers shot 34 percent (16-of-47) overall and made 6-of-17 from behind the arc, while being out-rebounded 45-25.
Michigan State, under the leadership of 21st-year head coach Tom Izzo, earned an 88-57 victory at Penn State on Sunday. Denzel Valentine, who averages a team-best 20.5 points-per-game, had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Spartans lead the nation in scoring margin (16.4), field goal percentage defense (37.1), three-point field goal percentage (43.3), rebound margin (11.5), assists (20.6) and defensive rebounds (29.83), while ranking second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.72). Bryn Forbes leads the country in three-point field goal percentage at 50 percent.
