Michigan State Notes

2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

February 23, 2005

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana (13-11, 8-5 Big Ten) will finish its two-game homestand when it plays host to No. 9/10 Michigan State on Feb. 27 with a tip time set for 12:05 p.m.

Indiana is approaching a milestone victory this week. The Hoosiers have 399 wins at Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall, and they hope to notch No. 400 against No. 9/10 Michigan State on Sunday.

This will mark the first time the two teams will face since Jan. 31, 2004 when the Spartans took an 84-72 victory over IU in East Lansing. It will be the first meeting in Bloomington since Feb. 8, 2003. Michigan State also won that game, taking a 67-62 overtime win.

In addition, Indiana has beaten Michigan State six of the last seven times that the Spartans have been ranked when they come to Bloomington.

Each Indiana basketball game can be heard live on the IU Radio Network. WHCC (105.1 FM in Bloomington) is the flagship station for the network that has more than 50 stations broadcasting Hoosier basketball all season long. Don Fischer (play-by-play), former Indiana guard Todd Leary (color commentary) and Joe Smith (pregame, halftime and postgame host) call all of the action.

For a second consecutive Sunday, and the third of four Sundays this month, the game will be televised live by CBS. Dick Enberg will call the play-by-play, with Clark Kellogg providing color commentary.

Scouting Michigan State
No. 9/10 Michigan State (19-4, 10-2 Big Ten), which plays Thursday night against Penn State in East

2/FONT>For a second consecutive game, freshman A.J. Ratliff came off the bench to score double figures for the Hoosiers.

Lansing, Mich., enters Branch McCracken Court at Assembly Hall looking to continue the recent trend against Indiana. The Spartans have run off three consecutive wins over the Hoosiers, including winning five of the last seven games.
The last meeting between the two teams came on Jan. 31, 2004 when the Spartans took an 84-72 victory over IU in East Lansing. Sunday's contest will be the first meeting in Bloomington since Feb. 8, 2003. Michigan State also won that game, taking a 67-62 overtime win.
The Spartans boast of five players averaging double figures, led by junior guard Maurice Ager's 13.7 points per contest. Junior center Paul Davis leads the team in rebounds (7.1) while also accounting for 12.0 ppg. Senior forward Alan Anderson (12.1 ppg), sophomore guard Shannon Brown (11.0) and senior guard Chris Hill (10.0 ppg) each average in double figures.
In addition, Indiana has beaten Michigan State six of the last seven times that the Spartans have been ranked when they come to Bloomington.

The series vs. Michigan State
Indiana owns a 60-40 advantage in the series. This will be the 101st meeting between the two rivals. The Spartans have controlled the series as of late, reeling off three straight wins and five victories in the last seven contests. Below is a look at a few facts between the two rivals:

SERIES FACTS
Last Meeting: Michigan State 84, Indiana 72
(East Lansing on 1/31/04)
Indiana at Home: 38-10
Indiana at Michigan State: 21-29
IU vs. MSU on Neutral Court: 1-1
Last Indiana Win: 67-56 (3/8/02)
Last IU Win At Michigan State 62-56 (2/28/91)
Last Michigan State Win: 84-72 ( 1/31/04)
Last MSU Win At Indiana: 67-62 (OT) (2/8/03)
Current Overall Streak: Michigan State W3 (W1 at IU)

Dialing Long Distance
In its last two games, Indiana is 24-of-45 (.533) from the three-point line. This marks the first time since Feb. 7 and 11, 2004 (vs. Iowa and at Penn State) when Indiana has had 10-plus three-pointers in back-to-back games.
A.J. Ratliff (7-of-13, .538) and Bracey Wright (6-of-12, .500) have been IU's top individual three-point shooters in the last two games.
To put this three-point barrage in perspective, Indiana was 24-of-74 (.324) from beyond the arc from Jan. 29 through Feb. 15.

Taking Care of the Ball
Indiana followed its 14 assist, nine turnover outing at Michigan with 11 assists and eight miscues against Purdue. This marks the first time since Feb. 7 and 11, 2004 (vs. Iowa and at Penn State) when Indiana has had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in back-to-back games.

Collective Effort
Indiana outscored Purdue's bench, 24-2 in the 79-62 victory on Feb. 22. This marks the first time since Jan. 18 and Jan. 21, 2003 that the Hoosiers have posted 20-plus bench points in back-to-back games. On Jan. 18, 2003, IU reserves scored 22 points in a 74-66 win over then-No. 8 Illinois. Three days later, the Hoosier bench combined for 22 points in a 69-51 victory over Ohio State.
In the last four games, the Indiana bench has averaged 19 points per game. This increased the season bench average from 9.25 to 10.9.

Sultan of Swat
Indiana freshman D.J. White is a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. White blocked four shots against Purdue, marking the 6-9 forward's fourth four-plus block effort of the season. More impressively, his 53 blocks on the season are a school record for a freshman and are 10th in school history.

Season - All Games
1. Dean Garrett 99 1987-88
2. Dean Garrett 93 1986-87
3. George Leach 79 2002-03
4. Uwe Blab 72 1984-85
5. Jeff Newton 70 2001-02
6. Uwe Blab 69 1983-84
7. Alan Henderson 64 1994-95
8. Jeff Newton 56 2000-01
Alan Henderson 56 1993-94
10. D.J. White 53 2004-05

In addition to his defensive exploits, White's .565 field goal percentage is the best by a Hoosier since Alan Henderson shot .597 in 1994-95.

Wright Gets Warmed Up
Junior All-American candidate Bracey Wright has a penchant for "picking up steam" in the second half. He scored 19 of his game-high 27 points against Purdue in the second half.
Despite missing three games with an ankle injury, Wright has six 25-plus point games this season. In those six games, he averages 16.2 points per game in the second half.
Bracey Wright In The Second Half
19 of 27 vs. Purdue, 2/22
16 of 30 vs. Wisconsin, 1/8
16 of 25 vs. Furman, 1/2
15 of 29 vs. Ball State, 12/28
20 of 31 vs. Kentucky, 12/11
12 of 28 vs. Connecticut, 12/4

Second Half Spurts
In the four games prior to the Feb. 12 Minnesota game, Indiana was outscored 33-13 in the first five minutes of the second half. Those fortunes have turned in the last four outings, as the Hoosiers have outscored their opponent, 36-17 in the first five minutes of the second half.

10-0 vs. Minnesota, 2/12
8-4 at Ohio State, 2/15
5-11 at Michigan, 2/20
13-2 vs. Purdue, 2/22

Sundays On CBS
Indiana is looking for its second consecutive victory on a Sunday afternoon CBS telecast. The Hoosiers have won four of their last six Sunday CBS appearances.

2/20 at Michigan W, 70-63
2/6 at No. 1 Illinois L, 47-60
1/11/04 at Michigan W, 59-57
2/24/02 at Michigan State L, 54-57
2/17/02 at Michigan W, 75-55
1/13/02 at No. 13 Iowa W, 77-66

Grand Thievery
Indiana recorded a season-high 12 steals against Purdue on Feb. 22. This is the Hoosiers' best single-game effort since they had 13 steals at North Texas on Dec. 29, 2003.
This defense has paid major dividends for Indiana. IU had a 20-0 scoring run from 18:10 until 12:00 in the second half of the Purdue game. In each of the last four victories, the Hoosiers have had decisive scoring runs that equate to a combined 45-1 advantage.

Penn State 7-0
Minnesota 10-0
At Michigan 8-1
Purdue 20-0

During this 20-0 run over the Boilermakers in 6:10, Indiana forced six of Purdue's 18 turnovers that led to 13 Hoosier points. In addition, Roderick Wilmont (two), A.J. Ratliff and Errek Suhr (one each) recorded four of IU's 12 steals during this stretch.
If you look at Indiana's statistics over the last eight games, last six games and last three games, the turnover margin increases from +0.8 to +2.3.

The Quiet Leader
When Bracey Wright was sidelined for three games with an ankle injury, backcourt mate Marshall Strickland emerged as one of the Hoosiers' more steady players. In his last three games, Strickland has averaged 8.3 points on .417 (5-of-12) shooting from three-point range with 15 assists and just seven turnovers.

Scoring 70 or More
Indiana is 64-10 under Mike Davis when it scores 70 or more points, and the Hoosiers are 17-4 on the road under Davis in this scenario.
Indiana is looking for more consistency in its offense. The 79-62 victory over Purdue marked just the seventh time this season that IU has scored 70 points or more, compared to an average of 16 times each of the last two seasons.

Freshman of the Year
As we approach the final two weeks of the regular season, let's take a look at why D.J. White is a leading candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.
Among all players and all games, White is 17th in scoring at 13.4 ppg, eighth in field goal percentage(,559), 13th in free throw percentage (.766) and third in blocks (2.17 per game). He needs one more rejection to break Alan Henderson's school single-season record.
When you narrow the pool to freshman players only, White leads the league in scoring, is second in rebounding (5.0), leads in field goal percentage, is fourth in free throw percentage and leads in blocks.
class records
Here is a look at where D.J. White and Robert Vaden rank among IU freshmen single-season records.

Field Goal Percentage (100 Att. Minimum)
Brian Sloan 1984-85 0.637
Steve Alford 1983-84 0.592
D.J. White 2004-05 0.565
Three Pointers Made
Bracey Wright 2002-03 66
Jay Edwards 1987-88 59
A.J. Guyton 1996-97 56
Robert Vaden 2004-05 39
Blocks
DJ. White 2004-05 54
Alan Henderson 1991-92 50
Jeff Newton 1999-00 49

Freshmen Starts
Indiana's 64 freshmen starts not only lead the Big Ten, but this is the best single-season true freshman start total for the Hoosiers since the 1996-97 quartet of Luke Jimenez, Michael Lewis, A.J. Guyton and Jason Collier started 72 games between them. The 1989-90 group of Lawrence Funderburke, Calbert Cheaney, Greg Graham, Pat Graham, Todd Leary, Chris Reynolds and Chris Lawson had a school record 73 starts between them.

One, Two, Three...CHARGE!
For the season, Indiana has drawn 31 charges for an average of 1.3 per game. Sophomore forward Pat Ewing, Jr. leads the squad with seven charges drawn. Freshman guard A.J. Ratliff ranks second with five drawn charges, while Ryan Tapak has four charges on the year.
Name Charges Drawn
Pat Ewing 7
A.J. Ratliff 5
Ryan Tapak 4
Bracey Wright 3
Sean Kline 3
Rod Wilmont 3
Errek Suhr 2
Robert Vaden 2
Mark Johnson 1
Mike Roberts 1
Totals 31

Clutch Free Throws
Here is a player-by-player breakdown of how Indiana has fared at the foul line with five minutes or less remaining in the game and in overtimes:
Name FTs FT %
Robert Vaden 23-of-25 .920
D.J. White 21-of-24 .875
Pat Ewing 9-of-11 .818
A.J. Ratliff 11-of-14 .786
Bracey Wright 35-of-45 .778
Marshall Strickland 17-of-22 .773
Errek Suhr 3-of-4 .750
James Hardy 0-of-1 .000
Team Totals 119-of-143 .832

Decisive Runs
Of the Hoosiers' 11 victories in their last 16 contests, there have been some big runs to help propel the team. Below is a break down of the last five wins before the run and after the run (BR=Before Run, AR=After Run):
Date Opponent BR Run AR Final
12/28 Ball State 0-0 17-2 17-2 71-59
12/31 Oral Roberts 9-9 11-2 20-11 69-68
1/2 Furman 17-10 10-2 27-12 68-52
1/5 Wisconsin 25-16 24-8 49-34 74-61
1/15 at Purdue 22-32 14-0 36-32 75-73
1/19 Michigan 40-39 11-2 51-41 62-53
1/22 at Ohio State 38-41 11-3 49-44 67-60
1/29 Penn State 34-36 7-0 43-36 68-63
2/12 Minnesota 29-27 10-0 39-27 71-56
2/20 at Michigan 57-58 8-1 65-59 70-63
2/22 Purdue 34-30 20-0 54-30 79-62

Decisive Droughts
With such a young and inexperienced team playing one of the nation's toughest schedules, Indiana must maintain a consistent offensive flow. In nine of IU's 11 losses on the season, the Hoosiers have endured a considerable drought. Below is a look at the drought endured by Indiana in each loss (BD=Before Drought, AD=After Drought):
Date Opponent BD Drought AD
12/1 North Carolina 34-33 5:15 35-41
12/4 at UConn 54-41 4:55 55-58
12/8 Notre Dame 25-28 5:17 25-36
12/11 Kentucky 37-42 3:23 37-53
12/19 at Missouri 35-20 7:40 35-32
1/5 at Northwestern 37-43 3:00 38-52
1/26 at Minnesota 31-30 10:25 32-47
2/6 at Illinois 0-0 11:20 3-20
2/15 at Ohio State 39-38 5:01 48-38