MSU's Wonky Win Over Rutgers Speaks Volumes for Long-Term

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- The final score alone does not really tell a great story about how Thursday's game at the Breslin Center went.

No. 8 Michigan State's 91-87 win over Rutgers will raise some eyebrows among those who only see those two numbers and didn't watch. It makes sense; most would probably expect a margin of victory of about 20 in this one. That four-point margin makes it seem like it was a serious battle.

Michigan State's Coen Carr battles in the post against Rutgers on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

It was, just only for about half. MSU was up 15 with 1:19 remaining, but Rutgers started raining in shots while the Spartans seemed a little more preoccupied about trying to set up their senior tradition of having the players kiss the Michigan State logo at center court.

That's MSU's fault for letting that comeback attempt seriously materialize, but it probably doesn't happen if this game is at literally any other point on the schedule.

Anyways, there's a lot of other interesting stuff that happened besides Rutgers' attempt at making Michigan State fans re-live what happened at Iowa in February 2023, when the Spartans blew a 10-point lead with 48 seconds left. Here are a couple of takeaways from MSU's 25th win of the season:

Ward Making Strides

Michigan State's Cam Ward shoots a free throw during a game against Rutgers on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Cam Ward showed what kind of player he can become in his second-ever game as a Spartan when he dropped 18 points and 10 rebounds against Arkansas. We haven't seen Ward fully replicate that type of performance, but it feels like he's getting closer.

Getting a double-double was in play for Ward on Thursday night. He fell one short in both main categories, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds, but his season-high three blocks also stick out. Ward seems to be getting more and more trust from Tom Izzo and has been on the floor multiple times now, where MSU has needed its best out there. This game was another step in the right direction for him.

Wojcik Gaining Comfort in Offense

The guy wearing No. 10 in green and white hasn't been the most popular player out there for Michigan State this year, but Denham Wojcik looked more like a true backup point guard on Thursday. He ended up receiving 12 minutes, the most he's seen in a Big Ten game this year, and Wojcik seemed to really do a good job at getting MSU into its offense.

Wojcik ended up getting three assists to no turnovers. Some of these were pretty critical minutes, too. Shortly after Jeremy Fears Jr. received a tech to get his fourth foul with a little more than 10 minutes left, Rutgers made it a 10-point game with a five-point possession. Wojcik had to steady the ship there.

When Fears came back in, Michigan State's cushion sat at 14. That's the type of minutes that MSU is looking for from its backup point guard.

"Denham was huge," Fears said after the game. "Just showing how much his confidence has grown over the year and being able to help us was a big part of it."

"He took a big-time charge [on defense], he got some drives, he got some drop-offs. Just coming in and helping the squad was most important, and I'm happy to see that growth, and it just shows that he has more confidence and we have more confidence in him."

No Worries for Scott

While Ward is rising, fellow freshman Jordan Scott has hit a bit of a scuffle. He had a six-game streak of at least 10 points going at one point, but has now been held to fewer than that in three straight contests. Thursday especially seemed like a struggle: Scott had five points, but ended up turning it over four times in 29 minutes.

Izzo doesn't seem to worried about this slip-up snowballing.

"He struggled, and he's been pretty sensational for a lot of games," Izzo said. "So he struggled once, you know. Welcome to our world. I think he handled it pretty well."

What's also interesting about Scott, too, is that even when he doesn't seem to be playing well, good things are still happening. He still wrapped up his night with a plus-23 in the box score, which was the best number for anyone on the team (Ward was second at plus-19). It was a tough night for Scott individually, but he still seems to find ways to help make his team better.

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