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 at Madison Square Garden.

Despite Harper being out of the starting lineup and center Emmanuel Ogbole done for the season due to a knee injury, Rutgers started strong by scoring 10 straight early. Michigan State countered with a 16-1 run to take a double-digit lead as the Scarlet Knights missed 11 straight shots.

Make it twelve straight wins for Michigan State basketball as MSU beat Rutgers. The Spartans went into the hallowed grounds of Madison Square Garden on Saturday and went toe-to-toe with two of the top freshmen in the league and came out with another impressive victory.

Tom Izzo watched Michigan State gut out an 80-78 win Sunday over then-No. 19 Illinois and declared the Fighting Illini the best team in the Big Ten. "I'm not slighting

Tom Izzo and No. 8 Michigan State basketball has two demons to try and conquer Saturday — a talented Rutgers squad and the Madison Square Garden aura.

You would think that Tom Izzo would be happy with his team following their twelfth straight win, this time coming against a star-studded Rutgers squad in Madison Square Garden. Then again, if you thought he’d be happy, you probably don’t know Tom Izzo, who can seemingly always find a teachable moment no matter what his team’s record is.

Columnist Graham Couch gives his initial thoughts on MSU's win Saturday over Rutgers at Madison Square Garden with three quick takes.

The Spartans beat Rutgers for 12 straight wins Saturday at Madison Square Garden with big contributions from Jase Richardson and Coen Carr.