Indiana basketball defeated Michigan State to end their five-game losing streak with a final score of 71-67. Read more for 3 takeaways:
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo had the opportunity to make history on Tuesday night, but not under Indiana’s watch. Izzo is currently tied with former Indiana basketball head coach and legend Bob Knight for most wins in the Big Ten conference and a win against the Hoosiers would have broken that record.
Despite a slow start, Indiana basketball took over the game and went on a 12-2 run at the end of the first half. This momentum carried into the second half and when it came down to the wire, free throws were what ultimately sealed the deal and sent the Hoosiers back to Bloomington with a 71-67 win over the Spartans. Read more for three takeaways:
Takeaway #1: Michigan State proves to have depth
The depth that Michigan State proved to have on Tuesday night against Indiana was nothing short of impressive. In the first half, nine of the ten players that stepped foot on the court scored for the Spartans. The team has only two transfers, which is rare in this era of college basketball and head coach Tom Izzo thinks that this is one of the closest teams he has coached. The Spartans had three players that scored double digits against the Hoosiers. Leading the way was senior guard Jaden Akins with 14 points as well as 3 rebounds.
Akins has played at Michigan State his whole collegiate career. In his junior year, he was the only player on the roster to start all 34 games of the season. He is currently the Spartans’ leading scorer, averaging 13.4 points per game.
Takeaway #2: Ballo is vital on both ends of the court
In Indiana basketball’s previous two games, center Oumar Ballo had been in a little bit of a slump, but he came out hot against Michigan State and had a spectacular performance on Tuesday night. In fact, he had a better first half than either of these games. Ballo finished the game with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists. There were some parts of the game where it felt like feeding the ball to Ballo in the post seemed to be the only thing working for the Hoosiers on the offensive side of things; however, it should be noted that Ballo had an incredible showing on both ends of the court.
Ballo played with an incredible amount of heart and effort throughout the whole game, fouling out with 23 seconds left to play in the second half. His game against Michigan State was a great showing of the talent fans have been wanting to see this season. If Ballo can consistently have performances like the one he did on Tuesday night, he is going to be able to carry Indiana basketball to more wins like this one.
Takeaway #3: Rice and Reneau still make big impact despite coming off the bench
There were major changes to Indiana basketball’s starting lineup on Tuesday night with Luke Goode and Trey Galloway starting in place of Malik Reneau and Myles Rice. Head coach Mike Woodson explained that he made these changes in an attempt to get off to a better start in the first half. Reneau and Rice did not let this change prevent them from having very impactful performances. Reneau posted a double-double, leading the Hoosiers in scoring and rebounds, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Rice also scored in the double digits, finishing the game against Michigan State with 10 points. These two also proved to work very well as a duo on the court, showing great chemistry throughout the game.
It’s looking like this new lineup and rotation will be here to stay as this Indiana basketball team had one of their best performances yet against the Spartans. Another thing that should be noted about Indiana’s game on Tuesday night was the success of their zone defense as it forced Michigan State to pass the ball and attempt to drive to the basket. The whole team played with more passion than they had previously this season. If that same team continues to show up, the Hoosiers may be able to make an exciting run in the next couple of weeks and into tournament play.
Up next for Indiana basketball (15-10, 6-8): vs. UCLA (18-7, 9-5) – Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. EST
Up next for Michigan State basketball (19-5, 10-3): at Illinois (17-8, 9-6) – Dec. 15 at 8 p.m. EST