Fears, Spartans Turn Attention to Ominous Rutgers Test
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After sweeping their West Coast road trip with double-digit wins over Washington and Oregon, Michigan State returned home to East Lansing and delivered a statement performance, routing Maryland 91–48.
Sophomore guard Jeremy Fears produced one of the best games of his career, finishing with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting while dishing out 17 assists in just 25 minutes of action. With the performance, Fears became only the fourth player in college basketball history to record at least 17 points and 17 assists against a Power Four opponent.
Fears wasn’t the only Spartan to shine against the Terrapins. Coen Carr and Carson Cooper each scored 14 points, combining to shoot 10-of-18 from the field. Cooper knocked down the first three-point shot of his collegiate career, while Carr electrified the crowd with two highlight-reel alley-oop dunks. Jaxon Kohler also returned to form, scoring in double figures after struggling during the West Coast trip.
With momentum firmly on their side, Michigan State now heads back on the road to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a matchup against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
Scouting the Scarlet Knights
In his tenth season as Rutgers head coach, Steve Pikiell is trending toward his sixth losing season and his third consecutive year below .500.
After boasting two top-five NBA Draft picks last season in Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Rutgers has struggled to find similar success this year. The Scarlet Knights enter the matchup with a 9–11 overall record and a 2–7 mark in Big Ten play, currently riding a three-game losing streak against Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana.
Offensively, Rutgers has leaned heavily on junior guard Tariq Francis, who leads the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game, and sophomore Dylan Grant, who ranks second with 11.1 points per contest.
Francis transferred to Rutgers after spending his first two seasons at NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology) and has quickly become the team’s primary scoring option. He has recorded three 30-plus-point performances this season and scored in double figures in 14 games. Francis has also been efficient, shooting 43 percent from the field and 32 percent from three-point range.
Grant has taken a significant leap in his sophomore season. After averaging 5.9 points per game as a freshman on 44 percent shooting and 23 percent from beyond the arc, he is now averaging 11.0 points per game while improving his shooting to 45 percent overall and 36 percent from three.
While Michigan State enters the Rutgers matchup riding high after a dominant win over Maryland, the Spartans will need to remain focused on the task at hand.
With a rivalry game against Michigan looming later in the week, Rutgers presents a classic trap-game scenario. If Michigan State can maintain its defensive intensity and continue sharing the ball at the level displayed by Jeremy Fears, the Spartans should be well-positioned to handle business on the road and carry momentum into the weekend.
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