PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Marcus Bingham Jr. and A.J. Hoggard trudged back to the bench, their heads drooping with a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment.
Myles Johnson’s follow-up dunk a few minutes earlier posterized Bingham. Geo Baker zeroed in for a 3-pointer over the flat-footed Hoggard. Rutgers’ knockout run confirmed the reality of what happened Thursday night.
This did not look like Michigan State basketball. Tom Izzo knew it. His players knew it. Anyone watching on TV knew it.
Confidence wavering. Energy absent. Fight fading.
A 20-day layoff due to COVID-19 issues ended after three games were postponed, but the Spartans returned to action looking like a team that had not played in nearly three weeks.