Michigan State vs. Rutgers tipoff: Preview analysis, prediction

•What: Michigan State vs. Rutgers

•When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

•Where: Breslin Center

•TV/Radio: Big Ten Network/Spartan Sports Network, including WJIM 1240-AM and WMMQ 94.9-FM

•Records/Rankings: MSU is 15-2 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten and ranked No. 4 in both major polls; Rutgers is 11-6 overall, 1-3 in the Big Ten and unranked.

•Coaches: MSU — Tom Izzo is 558-222 in his 23rd season, all with the Spartans. Rutgers — Steve Pikiell is 223-199 in his 13th season, including 28-24 in his second year with the Scarlet Knights.

•Series: MSU leads the series 69-56 all-time, including a 62-52 win Dec. 5 at Rutgers.

Rutgers

MSU

•Rutgers update: The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 64-60 home win over Wisconsin on Friday night, during which they committed only six turnovers, the fewest in the program’s brief Big Ten history. Rutgers has been a maddening team since its pushed MSU late into the game on Dec. 5. The Scarlet Knights upset a ranked Seton Hall team in mid-December, but then closed the month with home losses to Stony Brook and Hartford. Rutgers is the Big Ten’s worst shooting team — both on 3-pointers (.295) and free throws (.611), but is among the league’s best on the glass and defensively on the perimeter, where opponents are shooting less than 30 percent from long range.

Michigan State looks to correct gaffes from loss when it hosts Rutgers

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•MSU update: The Spartans were humbled at Ohio State on Sunday, losing 80-64, with a performance that made them look vulnerable for the first time since mid-November. MSU’s ceiling is still everything it was before Sunday. To give you an idea how dominant MSU was prior to its visit to Ohio State, the Spartans still lead the nation in field-goal percentage (.525) and field-goal percentage defense (.342), the latter by a ways.

•About the matchup:MSU won the first meeting with Rutgers despite shooting 38 percent, having Nick Ward nonexistent and then benched, and not getting its customary ball movement. Rutgers has a better roster than it’s had since joining the Big Ten, helped by the addition of freshman guard Geo Baker and coach Steve Pikiell, who will get this program to a competitive Big Ten level in the next couple years. Junior Corey Sanders can be a dynamic guard, when his head is right. He scored 23 points in Friday’s win over Wisconsin. The problem for Rutgers is that it’s facing an ornery MSU team that won’t take it for granted after the first meeting.

(Watch MSU coach Tom Izzo discuss the Spartans' win over Rutgers back in December.)

•Prediction: Rutgers has shown signs of being able to compete with quality competition this year — challenging MSU and Florida State and beating Seton Hall. Those were all home games. Its 29-point loss at Purdue last week and 22-point loss at Minnesota in December are still better representations of who the Scarlet Knights are as a road team against the top of the Big Ten. It’s hard to imagine that changing on this night.

» Make it: MSU 80, Rutgers 62