No. 8 Michigan State beats Rutgers 81-74 at MSG behind 20 points from Richardson

Updated Jan. 25, 2025 4:57 p.m. ET

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NEW YORK (AP) — Freshman guard Jase Richardson scored a career-high 20 points and No. 8 Michigan State rolled to its 12th consecutive victory, beating Rutgers 81-74 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Coen Carr added 14 points on 5-of-5 shooting for the Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten) and grabbed eight rebounds. MSU is riding its longest winning streak since a 13-game run during the 2018-19 season — the most recent of eight teams to reach the Final Four under Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo.

Jordan Derkack scored a season-best 26 points off the bench in a home game for Rutgers (10-10, 3-6), played before a crowd of 17,480 about 38 miles from its New Jersey campus. Ace Bailey had 18 on 4-of-17 shooting with nine rebounds.

Rutgers star Dylan Harper, limited by a sprained ankle, came off the bench for the first time this season and finished with six points in 13 minutes. Harper, who was averaging 19.3 points, got hurt in Monday's loss at Penn State.

Takeaways

Michigan State: Carr and Richardson, the son of Spartans great Jason Richardson, came off a deep bench that's an enormous strength for the Spartans. Michigan State's second unit outscored Rutgers reserves 50-34.

Rutgers: Another disappointing performance for a banged-up team with two highly touted freshmen and top NBA prospects in Bailey and Harper that began the season ranked in the AP Top 25.

Key moments

Carr threw down a couple of soaring, thunderous dunks — one that gave MSU a 58-46 lead with 8:38 left.

Key stats

Michigan State is 12-0 since Tre Holloman moved into the starting lineup. ... MSU held Rutgers to 34% shooting and led for more than 33 minutes.

Up next

Michigan State hosts Minnesota on Tuesday, after winning the first meeting 90-72 on the road in their Big Ten opener Dec. 4. Rutgers visits Northwestern on Wednesday.

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