Michigan State Hasn't Fared Well at MSG in Recent Memory

The Michigan State Spartans have not had much success at Madison Square Garden in recent seasons. The Spartans will have to put that behind them to extend their 11-game win-streak against Rutgers on Saturday.
Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans On SI

The No. 8 Michigan State Spartans travel to Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon to play the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

It is always an honor to play at the Mecca of Basketball, even though the Spartans haven’t fared well at the Garden under Coach Tom Izzo.

Izzo has a poor record of 4-13 at Madison Square Garden throughout his Hall-of-Fame career. The Spartans have played in a multitude of different types of games at the Garden, whether it's the Champions Classic, a Big Ten regular-season game, or even March Madness.

Michigan State has an advantage because it doesn't have to play in Piscataway, on Rutgers’ campus, which is notoriously a tough environment in which the Scarlet Knights thrive, especially against top-ten teams.

It has been two years since the Spartans appeared at Madison Square Garden. First, they played Rutgers in a similar situation in the middle of Big Ten play. The Scarlet Knights were able to slow down former Spartans guard Tyson Walker and etch out a 5-point win. 

The Spartans fell to 14-9 and 6-6 in Big Ten play and would need to finish the season strong to secure a seven-seed in March Madness.

Michigqan State would also close its 2022-23 campaign at Madison Square Garden in the Sweet Sixteen. After big wins over USC and Marquette, the Spartans faced the red-hot Kansas State Wildcats in what would be one of the best games of the tournament.

Michigan State was able to go blow-for-blow with Kansas State, taking the game into overtime. But Wildcats point guard Markquis Nowell overpowered the Spartans, putting the nail in the coffin with a game-sealing alley-oop feed to Kansas State forward Keyontae Johnson.

The Spartans would begin their 2021-22 season at Madison Square Garden in the first normal Champions Classic post-COVID. Similar to this season, Michigan State squared off against the Kansas Jayhawks, who won by double digits. Kansas forward Ochai Agbaji scored 29 points to lead the Jayhawks to victory against Michigan State. Kansas would win the national championship later in the season.

Overall, Michigan State is 0-3 in its last three appearances at Madison Square Garden. This means Saturday is an opportunity for the Spartans to finally get back on track at what has been a tough place to play recent memory. 

Saturday will be the Spartans’ best chance to get a win at Madison Square Garden. Despite Rutgers having some of the best talent in the conference, it hasn’t materialized yet on the court, as it has a record of 10-9 this season.

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