Michigan State men’s basketball to play Rutgers at Madison Square Garden in New York City

The Michigan State men’s basketball team is headed to New York City. The Spartans will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Feb. 4 at noon Eastern Time for the Big Ten’s “Super Saturday” event, the conference announced on Monday.

This news is unsurprising, as it was rumored throughout the offseason, and Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo even confirmed at Big Ten Media Days in October that he and Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell had agreed to play at the contest at Madison Square Garden.

The Feb. 4 matchup in New York City will be the second meeting between the two programs this season. Rutgers will head to East Lansing for a game at the Breslin Center on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Last season, the two Big Ten schools met only once. Rutgers dominated Michigan State at home in Piscataway, New Jersey, winning by a final score of 84-63.

Early on in the 2022-2023 season, both programs have 3-1 records through four games. Michigan State is coming off a 73-71 victory over Villanova on Friday and next heads to Portland, Oregon to take on No. 18 Alabama in the Spartans’ first game of the Phil Knight Invitational. That game is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday.

Rutgers most recently lost to Temple by a final score of 72-66. The Scarlet Knights take on Rider on Tuesday of this week.

The 2018 Big Ten Tournament was held at Madison Square Garden. Michigan State has made two appearances in Manhattan since the 2018 conference tournament, with both games being played as part of the Champions Classic event. MSU faced No. 3 Kansas to begin the the 2021-2022 season (the Jayhawks won 87-74) and No. 2 Kentucky to open up the 2019-2020 campaign (a 69-62 win for the Wildcats).