Men's basketball recap: Rutgers loses big at the RAC to Michigan State 71-51

The Wisconsin game feels so long ago at this point. After getting destroyed on the road in Happy Valley, Rutgers continues to struggle in Big Ten play as they lose convincingly to Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans 71-51 at home.

The Knights got as close to a four-point deficit with a little less than ten minutes to go in the first half, and never really made it a competitive game beyond that point. Sparty completely dominated in almost every aspect of the game, as they shot over 50% from the field and 40% from three-point range. They won the rebound battle 42-28 as well, overpowering RU inside. Oddly enough, Rutgers shot better at the free throw line by a slight margin, and had seven fewer turnovers on the night.

Kadeem Jack is the only player who showed up tonight, netting 17 points on 6-16 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. Myles Mack was horrendous as he continues to be overworked. He shot a miserable 2-10 and 1-5 from beyond the arc. Bishop Daniels was a nice surprise as he was supposed to be limited with a hip flexor, but ended up as the Knights' second-leading scorer on the night with nine points on 3-8 shooting and 2-4 from three-point range.

Michigan State had three players score in double digits, with Branden Dawson notching a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds). The Spartan lead reached as high as 26 points at the midpoint of the second half. From that point, Izzo was able to coast to an easy victory.

Rutgers falls to 10-12 overall and 2-7 in B1G play. It doesn't get any easier for Eddie Jordan as his team must travel to an angry #22 Indiana Hoosier team coming off a loss to rival Purdue.