The winter winds whipping through Michigan got a big boost Tuesday night as Michigan State fans across the state breathed a sigh of relief.

Divine Ugochukwu’s 3-pointer forced overtime and Carson Cooper converted go-ahead free throws in a 88-79 overtime win over Rutgers as Michigan State shook off a 12-point deficit in the second half at Jersey Mike’s Arena.

The comeback is the biggest of the season for Michigan State (19-2, 9-1 Big Ten), setting up a big-time matchup Friday night at Breslin Center against No. 3 Michigan.

Rutgers (9-12, 2-8) has lost its past three outings against Michigan State. The Spartans snapped a two-game skid at Jersey Mike’s Arena — better known as the Rutgers Athletic Center — dating back to 2021.

Tariq Francis scored 23 points as Rutgers' sixth-man to lead the game and four teammates finished in double figures. But the Scarlet Knights ran out of steam down the stretch as Jeremy Fears Jr. caught fire down the stretch for 27 of his 29 points in the second half and overtime. He also notched nine assists.

A 7-0 run in the final minutes of regulation led by Fears brought the game to a tie at 67 points with 1:16 to play. But as Rutgers went ahead in the final minute at the foul line, Michigan State extended the game with fouls to set up a tying corner 3 from Ugochukwu with 11 seconds to play that forced overtime after a Rutgers miss.

In overtime, free throws from Cooper gave Michigan State a 75-73 lead, its first since leading 9-8 5:10 into the game. And after another off night that saw him turn over interior passes and miss shots he usually hits, Jaxon Kohler converted an and-one halfway through the five-minute overtime frame to stretch the lead even further. And Michigan State kept grinding down the clock for the win.

A 37-28 deficit at halftime turned into a double-digit spread after the first five minutes of the half as Michigan State just couldn’t shake its disjointed look of the first half. The first possessions told the story. Rutgers, with its first offensive rebound of the game, found a corner 3 from Jamichael Davis. The Spartans’ possession ended in a shot clock turnover.

Michigan State drew as close as six, 42-36, with 15:57 to play off split Coen Carr free throws. But Rutgers pushed its lead back to double digits, leading by as much as 11 points three minutes later off a Harun Zrno 3-pointer.

If Michigan State got one thing to work early in the half, it drew a pair of dunks off the routine lob connection between Fears and Cooper. Fears ran the offense in the second half after two fouls put him on the bench to close out the first, and Cooper gave him a consistent threat inside off the pick and roll. They connected with 11:32 to play to whittle that big Rutgers lead down to a seven-point difference, 51-44, and force a timeout by Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell.

The timeout worked, as Francis and Davis (15 points) led the Scarlet Knights to a 12-point, 58-46 lead with 9:39 to play.

Running out of time with nine minutes to play, here came Michigan State’s big push. A 9-2 run brought the Spartans within five, 60-55, with 6:50 to play. Ugochukwu drained a corner 3, Carr scored a layup and the Fears-Cooper connection counted back-to-back buckets as Rutgers called timeout to settle down.

It worked. But not for long. Zrno hit a 3 out of the break and forced a turnover by Cooper on a leading interior pass from Fears. Then Michigan State drew within five again off a 3-pointer from Carr with 3:41 to go.

Back and forth it went. The Spartans had a 5-on-4 advantage on one possession with a Rutgers player down behind the play. But on a pass from Fears to a rolling Cooper in the paint, Buchanan forced another turnover to go the other way for a score. Carr got it back at the other end to start the run that saw Fears tie the game at 67.

It was about as ugly a first half as could be for Michigan State, playing its first game at the R.A.C. in four years. After traded leads gave way to a tie at 13 with 11:48 to play off a Kur Teng jumper, Rutgers outscored the Spartans by nine the rest of the way to take a 37-28 lead. Michigan State gave up 17 points on 10 turnovers, five of which came from frontcourt starters Kohler and Cooper and two of which came from Fears.

In a lot of games this season, Michigan State’s bench depth has given it a boost. This time around, the opposite happened. When the Spartans’ rotational players came out, Rutgers sixth man Francis scored eight straight including a pair of 3s to take a 21-13 lead with 9:46.

Michigan State’s starters drew a little closer off a 3 from Kohler and a dunk from Carr with 8:44 to play, but Rutgers once again took command with an 8-0 run across the next four minutes. The Spartans looked disjointed compared to their form as a top-10 team and a contender for the Big Ten title, especially against a Rutgers team that has suffered blowout after blowout in Big Ten play.

Foul trouble had something to do with that. As the Spartans tried to dig out from a double-digit hole in the final five minutes of the half, both Kohler (wearing number 45 for the half) and Fears. sat on the bench after taking their second fouls. Cam Ward also took two fouls, and that put Carr at power forward, where he hit a 3 with 33 seconds left that helped draw closer. Limited on the run by Rutgers’ press defense, Carr scored five points in the half to tie for the Spartans’ lead.

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