Michigan St. @ Indiana preview
Assembly Hall
Last Meeting ( Jan 23, 2020 ) Michigan St 63, Indiana 67
Indiana is hoping to continue a late-season surge that could cement its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2016.
The Hoosiers (12-9, 7-7 Big Ten) host struggling Michigan State on Saturday having won three of their past four games. Improved perimeter shooting has helped spark the recent success. Indiana is shooting 35.1 percent (26-of-74) from 3-point range during the four-game stretch. In Wednesday's 82-72 win over Minnesota, Indiana shot 58.3 percent (7-of-12) from beyond the arc.
Confidence has been hard to come by during an up-and-down season in which Indiana hasn't won or lost more than two games in a row, but the Hoosiers appear to be peaking at the right time.
"Guys are coming in every day ready to work, just not getting down on themselves," said Indiana guard Rob Phinisee, who had 10 points and six assists in the Minnesota win. "It's the end of the season. We have to stick with it, keep moving forward."
There's still plenty for Indiana to work on heading down the stretch of the regular season. The Hoosiers turned the ball over 17 times against Minnesota on Wednesday. Indiana was outscored 25-8 in points off turnovers and 15-13 in second-chance points.
"In our last few games, in my opinion, that is our one negative," Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "The turnovers and rebounds in our last two games is going to hurt us down the stretch if we cannot get it cleaned up."
Michigan State (10-9, 4-9 Big Ten) is coming off a 75-65 loss at Purdue on Tuesday. The Spartans have lost six of their past eight and are in danger of having their string of 22 straight NCAA Tournament appearances snapped.
"We find ways to lose games instead of finding ways to win games," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said.
Michigan State has struggled to replace departed point guard Cassius Winston, who was a steadying influence on the offense. The Spartans are turning the ball over an average of 13.7 times per game, worst in the Big Ten.
Foster Loyer and Rocket Watts have been unable to make up for the loss of Winston at the point, and both enter the Indiana game banged up, with Loyer dealing with a shoulder injury and Watts with an illness.
Aaron Henry has been Michigan State's most consistent player this season, leading the Spartans in scoring (14.3 points per game), while ranking second in rebounding (5.6).
"I'm not worried about the tournament," Izzo said. "I'm worried about getting my team better, and I'm worried about teaching guys how to play when it's hard."
--Field Level Media