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.

Michigan State sophomore forward Coen Carr has taken a tremendous "leap" this season, and that was as evident as ever in the No. 8 Spartans' win over Rutgers on Saturday.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo highlighted the performances of bench players Jase Richardson and Coen Carr in their win over Rutgers.

Under the leadership of Dusty May, it looked like Michigan was poised to become the next juggernaut in the Big Ten, and while that still might be the case, the Wolverines definitely hit some stumbling blocks with recent road losses to Minnesota and Purdue.

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.

Tom Izzo sees No. 12 Michigan State basketball getting tougher after beating No. 20 Illinois on Sunday, but also knows so will the Spartans' schedule.