NEW YORK — Michigan State found itself in a familiar position Saturday afternoon, and unfortunately for the Spartans, the end result was once again laced with disappointment and frustration.
Often over the last few weeks, Michigan State has been in position to win multiple games, only to falter down the stretch and end up with a loss. There was a nine-point lead that disappeared at Illinois in the second half, a four-point lead in the final minutes against Purdue and in the second half at Indiana, the Spartans rallied to take a lead midway through the second half after wasting a fast start and trailing at halftime.
Michigan State lost all three of those games, and as it entered the final nine minutes against Rutgers at Madison Square Garden, an eight-point lead had evaporated. Still, the Spartans were in front, leading 40-39 with 6:59 to play.
Over the next two minutes, the Spartans again failed to make the winning plays, sealing their fate once again as Rutgers surged ahead then held on for the 61-55 victory.
"We put ourself in position to win if we do anything on offense," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "We did enough things to win a big game on the road, we just didn't finish it."
The critical stretch began with Joey Hauser missing the front end of a one-and-one that led to a 3-pointer from Rutgers' Caleb McConnell. After a missed shot and a turnover, Mady Sissoko then missed the front end followed by the Scarlet Knights getting to the free-throw line their next three possessions and extending the lead to 46-40 with 4:55 to play.
It was all part of a 13-2 run for Rutgers that wiped out a five-point Michigan State lead and put the Scarlet Knights in control.
"Then we were playing catch up," Izzo said.
Michigan State made one final surge, pulling within 46-44, but Paul Mulcahy scored five in a row for Rutgers to essentially put the game away.
"Yeah, it's a major concern," Hauser said of Michigan State's inability to close games. "We've got to have those wins if we want to get where we want to go. Those are wins we have to have."
It didn't help the Spartans shot miserably, bringing in the frigid temperatures from outside. Michigan State (14-9, 6-6 Big Ten) was just 4 for 21 from 3-point range, two of those makes coming in the final minute. Michigan State was 20 for 58 overall and turned the ball over 14 times.
Tyson Walker scored 12 for the Spartans while Hauser added 10 points but missed all four of his 3-pointers. Malik Hall shot just 1 for 9 but had 13 rebounds.
"I thought we had some great shots, as they might have, too," Izzo said. "But Hauser and Hall had some wide-open 3s and we just didn't make them today."
Mulcahy scored 17 to lead Rutgers (16-7, 8-4) while Cliff Omoruyi added 15 and 12 rebounds as the Scarlet Knights weren't much better from the field, though they got the big shots when it counted, then put the game away at the free-throw line. They shot just 18 for 48 and only 3 for 16 from 3-point range, but 22 free throws made proved to be the difference, especially late in the game.
"We figured out a way to win," Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. "Cliff had a double-double and Paul doing what he did down the stretch. ... It wasn't a thing of beauty but we figured out a way to win in a league like this against elite teams."
The chilly shooting was on display early as both the Spartans and Scarlet Knights went 2 for 10 to begin the game and things improved only slightly from there as Michigan State closed the half 11 for 29 and Rutgers was 7 for 29.
Both teams had trouble hanging on to the ball, as well, with the Spartans committing seven turnovers and the Scarlet Knights six.
But Michigan State was able to find some rhythm late in the half, closing with a 13-4 surge that started with five straight points from Walker and ended with Jaden Akins scoring on a breakaway layup as the horn sounded, giving the Spartans a 25-19 lead at halftime.
Michigan State extended its lead early in the second half, taking a 31-23 lead on a Walker runner in the lane. But the Spartans went cold again, missing seven shots in a row as a 10-2 surge for the Scarlet Knights tied the score at 33 with 13:30 left.
The Spartans responded by pushing the lead to 38-33 on an Akins 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from A.J. Hoggard.
But Rutgers began to take over at that point, igniting the decisive 13-2 run to take a 46-40 lead with 4:55 to play. Hall hit a pair of free throws then fed Sissoko for a dunk to pull Michigan State within 46-44 with 3:45 left, but that's as close as Michigan State would get.
"I think we were getting clean shots at the beginning of the game," said Hoggard, who was 3 for 10 and had five turnovers. "We got clean shots, we just didn't knock them down. It happens. Our shooters are not going to miss that many shots like that too often. It was one of those days today and we've got to find another way to win. They did a good job of that and we didn't."
