Rutgers takes over MSG, upholds its identity in win over Michigan State

Caleb McConnell and Paul Mulcahy (4) took over second half as Rutgers fans packed Madison Square Garden to see Scarlet Knights defeat Michigan State. (Photo by Ben Solomon/Rutgers Athletics)

NEW YORK — Five years ago, the thought of Rutgers commanding the majority of a Madison Square Garden crowd seemed far-fetched, and that’s being generous.

Outside of its token opening-night appearances at the World’s Most Famous Arena in Big East tournaments of years gone by, the thought of Rutgers sharing a floor called home by the New York Knicks was borderline laughable. That, of course, changed once Steve Pikiell laid down a foundation on the banks of the old Raritan upon his hire in 2016 and began turning the Scarlet Knights into a basketball program. Rutgers’ Cinderella run to the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals at the Garden in 2018 was the major turning point, as the swaths of scarlet in the stands was all the proof one needed to know that if you build it, they will indeed come.

Rutgers’ next journey to midtown Manhattan, in February 2020 against Michigan a month before the NCAA Tournament was wiped out by COVID-19, was marked by a sea of red in the Garden stands, and so it was again Saturday against Michigan State. And after the Spartans had momentum firmly on their side going into the locker room on the strength of an 11-4 run to close the first half, the Scarlet Knights asserted themselves over the final 20 minutes before a largely partisan crowd of 14,844, remaining true to their identity and placing Tom Izzo’s team in the proverbial meat grinder on the way to a 61-55 victory that will continue to resonate in the weeks leading up to Selection Sunday.

“I just loved that we kept hanging in there,” Pikiell said after a second half in which Paul Mulcahy, much as he did last month against top-ranked Purdue, put his own stamp on the afternoon and scored all of his 17 points. “I thought in the second half, we started getting downhill and Paul did an unbelievable job. It wasn’t a thing of beauty, that’s for sure, but it was beautiful to me. We figured out a way to win.”

“All year, if we’re connected on the defensive end, we cause havoc, we cause problems,” Caleb McConnell added. “A lot of teams have struggled against our half-court defense and coming into this game, that’s something we wanted to do. We wanted to smother them. I feel like if we’re connected on the defensive end, we’re hard to beat.”

Michigan State experienced that firsthand as Rutgers (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) rallied behind its calling card of a vigorous pressure defense that changed the tenor of the game in a five-minute stretch in the latter stages of regulation, shutting out the Spartans with three missed field goals, a pair of turnovers and two costly 1-and-1 misses at the foul line while the Scarlet Knights fed off the stops to produce a 9-0 run on the offensive end to take control of the game down the stretch and gradually salt it away.

“Take nothing away now,” Izzo said as he prefaced his effusive praise of Rutgers and the work Pikiell has done. “I think people, especially at Michigan State, they’ll think, ‘well, you lost to Rutgers.’ Rutgers, in my humble opinion, is the second-best team in this league right now. I do think that they’re a very good team. Defense travels. I’m a big fan of Rutgers, I really am. And of Steve’s.”

“He’s like the guy next door, and yet he’s got some orneriness to him, and I think it’s a great combination of both. He gets after it more than people think and I think he recruits those kinds of kids. It reminds me of the Flintstones that I had, a bunch of guys that were just tough, get after it, don’t really care about anything but winning. That’s the way it seems.”

But Rutgers’ win was not without its share of adversity, as the Scarlet Knights were forced to go to the bench for reinforcements after Mawot Mag was injured in the first half, limping off the court after being tended to by Pikiell and trainer Rich Campbell and not returning after that. In his stead, Pikiell went to a longer lineup with Oskar Palmquist at the four spot for stretches, also playing smaller with McConnell at power forward while Derek Simpson was pressed into duty, reflecting the next-man-up mentality that has been cultivated with the lunchpail, blue-collar culture in Piscataway.

“That’s really tough, especially what he brings to this team,” McConnell said of losing Mag. “Everyone looks at the stat sheet, offensively, and he brings way more. He comes through when you need him and he’s kind of our anchor on both ends. He does a whole lot for us, honestly, and it kind of hurts to see him go down. I know he’ll be back soon, but it’s just next guy up and we’ve got guys in our program that will definitely be ready for that.”

“He’s been a very important guy for us, obviously,” Pikiell echoed. “He mixes up our defenses, we can do a lot of things with him, he and Caleb can guard really any position on the floor. I really feel for him right now, but we don’t really know anything. He’ll see some doctors tomorrow, and we’ve gotta keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.”

As Rutgers heads down the stretch with a team that began the season having to answer several questions, it has become a multifaceted attack. Cliff Omoruyi — despite a double-double Saturday — has become somewhat of an underrated weapon on any given night, as has the lethal shooting of Cam Spencer. On this day, it was Mulcahy and McConnell who were central to victory, perhaps apropos for the way Rutgers had to scrap to take down the Spartans in an effort that was symbolic of the program’s image over the past several seasons.

“These two guys are special to me,” a proud but stoic Pikiell said. “They do a lot of things — again, everyone’s into stats, but it’s really not about stats with either of those guys. Before the game, Caleb’s like, ‘who do you want me to guard?’ And it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. If it’s a five man, he says, ‘let me guard him.’ Paul is just about winning, that’s what he really cares about, and those two guys are our hardest workers. It’s just great to have leadership like that and guys that have been through a lot.”

The impact of the two seniors was certainly not lost on Pikiell’s Hall of Fame counterpart, who has seen more than his share of indispensable assets to many a program over almost three decades in East Lansing.

“I told Mulcahy and McConnell after the game (that) they’ve been great for the Big Ten,” Izzo declared. They really have. I actually hope I never see them again, but other than that, I really appreciate how they play and how tough they are, and just the demeanor about them. Winning seems to be firsthand, and that’s why I think Steve’s done a nice job with this team.”