Saturday, February 3
Bloomington, Ind.
8:15 PM
Indiana University
12-12, 5-7
60
vs
63
Michigan State
22-3, 10-2
1
2
F
Michigan State
32
31
63
Indiana
24
36
60
Indiana Brings Fight In Loss To No. 5 Michigan State
2/3/2018 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – It was there for Indiana, an upset of red-hot Michigan State, a statement-making victory on a nationally televised stage before a rocking Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd.
Then it was gone.
IU lost to the No. 5 Spartans 63-60 Saturday night. It was their fourth straight defeat, three of which came down to crunch time, and what could have been was everywhere you looked.
The Hoosiers (12-12 overall, 5-7 in the Big Ten) looked and vowed the next time would be different.
"It's an everyday approach," forward Juwan Morgan said. "Go at it in practice. Make sure you hold everybody accountable in practice, and have that carry over to the game. When it comes time to make a play, we have to buckle down and do it.
"We have to get off the mat and keep going at it. We have to be ready to attack another day and game. That's the mindset we'll go with. We'll be ready to go."
The Hoosiers attacked and defended and, with the exception of consistently putting the ball in the basket, executed.
It was almost enough.
"Our guys played extremely hard," coach Archie Miller said. "They brought the fight we needed to bring.
"The last two to three minutes we have to find ways to make a play. We're trying to figure out how to make those dagger plays to win it."
IU did Saturday night what didn't seem possible -- dominate Michigan State on the boards.
That is not a typo.
The nation's best rebounding team was fodder against the Hoosiers, by a 52-29 margin. IU had a 25-3 edge on offensive rebounds.
"It's hard to believe we could rebound like that," Miller said.
Morgan found fuel from last month's 85-57 loss at Michigan State. The Spartans had a 45-27 rebound advantage.
"At East Lansing, they punked us," Morgan said. "We came into this, and said, that can't happen again. Our guards will get their 12 rebounds. We need one or two of us (inside players) to get 10. That's what we did."
Forward Freddie McSwain Jr. played the game of his life in his first start of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds, six more than he'd ever had before in a Hoosier uniform. He added eight points.
"I want to go out every day and play my hardest every time my opportunity is called," he said. "It's being ready every day, every practice, before every game. Do whatever it takes to help the team win."
Mission accomplished, Miller said.
"He's playing better. He's giving us production. He's giving us rebounding effort. He gives us another physical guy in the post. It's hard to duplicate 16 rebounds. He gave great effort."
Added Morgan: "That's what he does every day. He attacks the glass relentlessly. The way we see it, nobody can keep him off the glass."
Morgan delivered his seventh double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He had 19 second-half points.
Shooting remained a problem. The Hoosiers opened 2-for-22 from the field, in part because the Spartans blocked eight shots, which matched their national-leading average.
IU shot 28.8 percent for the game. Michigan State finished with 13 blocks.
"They impacted the rim with their shot blocking and size," Miller said of Michigan State. "We weren't able to dial it up again from three."
The Spartans (22-3, 10-2) won their sixth straight game behind Jaren Jackson, who had 10 points and seven blocks.
It didn't impress coach Tom Izzo.
"There have been very few wins here that I didn't feel good about," he said. "Very seldom does our team get out-worked and out-hustled like Indiana did it. Indiana's 25-3 on offensive rebounds is an insult to me, my players and everybody who ever played here. I'm very disappointed in that. Tonight we weren't the tougher team."
Michigan State used defense to take a 20-9 lead. IU got back into it behind guard Devonte Green's sharp off-the-bench passing. He had three of his team-leading six assists (against zero turnovers) to spark a 4-for-7 shooting surge. The Hoosiers closed to 23-20 before Michigan State took a 32-24 halftime lead.
The Spartans scored the first two points of the second half for a 10-point advantage. The Hoosiers closed to 41-37. Michigan State regained a double-digit lead, and threatened for more, but IU toughened.
The Hoosiers rebounded and defended and, finally, scored. With four minutes left, they trailed by four. A minute later, the deficit was two, then one, at 58-57.
IU missed three of four free throws. Michigan State got a fourth three-pointer from Matt McQuaid with a minute left that seemed to clinch it.
It did not.
The Hoosiers had a chance to force overtime, but Green's 50-foot shot hit iron, and bounced away.
The Spartans would survive.
Next up for IU -- a Monday trip to Rutgers.
"We're coming down the home stretch," Miller said. "We're trying to fight and claw for every win we can get. We've been on a tough stretch. Everybody knows that. It's all about Rutgers. We've got to get ready to go."
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana – It was there for Indiana, an upset of red-hot Michigan State, a statement-making victory on a nationally televised stage before a rocking Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall crowd.
Then it was gone.
IU lost to the No. 5 Spartans 63-60 Saturday night. It was their fourth straight defeat, three of which came down to crunch time, and what could have been was everywhere you looked.
The Hoosiers (12-12 overall, 5-7 in the Big Ten) looked and vowed the next time would be different.
"It's an everyday approach," forward Juwan Morgan said. "Go at it in practice. Make sure you hold everybody accountable in practice, and have that carry over to the game. When it comes time to make a play, we have to buckle down and do it.
"We have to get off the mat and keep going at it. We have to be ready to attack another day and game. That's the mindset we'll go with. We'll be ready to go."
The Hoosiers attacked and defended and, with the exception of consistently putting the ball in the basket, executed.
It was almost enough.
"Our guys played extremely hard," coach Archie Miller said. "They brought the fight we needed to bring.
"The last two to three minutes we have to find ways to make a play. We're trying to figure out how to make those dagger plays to win it."
IU did Saturday night what didn't seem possible -- dominate Michigan State on the boards.
That is not a typo.
The nation's best rebounding team was fodder against the Hoosiers, by a 52-29 margin. IU had a 25-3 edge on offensive rebounds.
"It's hard to believe we could rebound like that," Miller said.
Morgan found fuel from last month's 85-57 loss at Michigan State. The Spartans had a 45-27 rebound advantage.
"At East Lansing, they punked us," Morgan said. "We came into this, and said, that can't happen again. Our guards will get their 12 rebounds. We need one or two of us (inside players) to get 10. That's what we did."
Forward Freddie McSwain Jr. played the game of his life in his first start of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds, six more than he'd ever had before in a Hoosier uniform. He added eight points.
"I want to go out every day and play my hardest every time my opportunity is called," he said. "It's being ready every day, every practice, before every game. Do whatever it takes to help the team win."
Mission accomplished, Miller said.
"He's playing better. He's giving us production. He's giving us rebounding effort. He gives us another physical guy in the post. It's hard to duplicate 16 rebounds. He gave great effort."
Added Morgan: "That's what he does every day. He attacks the glass relentlessly. The way we see it, nobody can keep him off the glass."
Morgan delivered his seventh double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds. He had 19 second-half points.
Shooting remained a problem. The Hoosiers opened 2-for-22 from the field, in part because the Spartans blocked eight shots, which matched their national-leading average.
IU shot 28.8 percent for the game. Michigan State finished with 13 blocks.
"They impacted the rim with their shot blocking and size," Miller said of Michigan State. "We weren't able to dial it up again from three."
The Spartans (22-3, 10-2) won their sixth straight game behind Jaren Jackson, who had 10 points and seven blocks.
It didn't impress coach Tom Izzo.
"There have been very few wins here that I didn't feel good about," he said. "Very seldom does our team get out-worked and out-hustled like Indiana did it. Indiana's 25-3 on offensive rebounds is an insult to me, my players and everybody who ever played here. I'm very disappointed in that. Tonight we weren't the tougher team."
Michigan State used defense to take a 20-9 lead. IU got back into it behind guard Devonte Green's sharp off-the-bench passing. He had three of his team-leading six assists (against zero turnovers) to spark a 4-for-7 shooting surge. The Hoosiers closed to 23-20 before Michigan State took a 32-24 halftime lead.
The Spartans scored the first two points of the second half for a 10-point advantage. The Hoosiers closed to 41-37. Michigan State regained a double-digit lead, and threatened for more, but IU toughened.
The Hoosiers rebounded and defended and, finally, scored. With four minutes left, they trailed by four. A minute later, the deficit was two, then one, at 58-57.
IU missed three of four free throws. Michigan State got a fourth three-pointer from Matt McQuaid with a minute left that seemed to clinch it.
It did not.
The Hoosiers had a chance to force overtime, but Green's 50-foot shot hit iron, and bounced away.
The Spartans would survive.
Next up for IU -- a Monday trip to Rutgers.
"We're coming down the home stretch," Miller said. "We're trying to fight and claw for every win we can get. We've been on a tough stretch. Everybody knows that. It's all about Rutgers. We've got to get ready to go."
Team Stats
MSU
IND
FG%
.489
.288
3FG%
.500
.211
FT%
.471
.720
RB
29
53
TO
11
8
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
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