Indiana Falls at No. 17/17 Michigan State

Saturday, February 12

East Lansing, Mich.

3:30 PM

Indiana University

16-8,7-7Big Ten

Michigan State

18-6,9-4Big Ten

Indiana

Michigan St.

2/12/2022 6:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Must-win urgency wasn't enough.

Not for Indiana.

Not against a motivating Michigan State team

"They had their way tonight," coach Mike Woodson said after the Hoosiers lost 76-61 Saturday at the Breslin Center.

IU lost its third straight game to fall to 16-8 overall, 7-7 in the Big Ten.

The Spartans are 18-6 and 9-4.

NCAA tourney urgency resonated behind the scenes. Two straight losses had dimmed some of the luster from the Ohio State and Purdue victories. Winning at a top-20 team, especially at the Breslin Center, where the Hoosiers had managed just two victories since the Calbert Cheaney era, would be a huge resume booster.

Michigan State had its own urgency given its two-game losing streak and coach Tom Izzo's vow to restore toughness to the Spartans.

The result – basketball with an edge.

"Michigan State was desperate for a win, too," Woodson told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio show. "They also had lost two in a row.

"They were the better team. Izzo did a hell of a job in terms of getting them over the hump."

In a fiercely competitive game that featured technicals, taunting, intentional fouls, an ejection and enough testosterone to fuel a battleship, the Hoosiers refused to back down.

It wasn't enough.

Not with this kind of shooting.

IU shot just 33.9 percent from the field. It was 5-for-21 on three-pointers and 16-for-27 from the line.

"You look at the stat sheet," Woodson told Fischer. "We missed 11 free throws. If we make those, we're in the game.

"They made theirs. They only missed three.

"We were terrible from the three-point line. Those things have to be cleaned up to get back on track."

And if they are …

"We've been solid," Woodson told Fischer. "Make no mistake. We've had some good play. It's kind of been on a roller coaster here as of late."

Amid one of college basketball's most intimidating settings, IU started strong to open the game, then roared back from a seven-point halftime deficit to take the lead.

Those were signs of what Woodson wants to build.

"We came out ready (to start the second half)," he told Fischer. "We made plays to get back in the game and take the lead, but we couldn't sustain it. That's where we have to get better. Especially on the road."

Guard Xavier Johnson scored, assisted and defended as if determined to make up for his suspension in the game's first five minutes. He even blocked a three-point attempt.

He began the second half with a similar burst. He had four points in an 8-0 run that helped overcome that seven-point halftime deficit.

Foul trouble did what the Spartans couldn't -- slow Johnson down. Even with four fouls, he finished with seven points, four assists and a rebound in 20 minutes.

Forward Trayce Jackson-Davis had 17 points and five rebounds for IU. Forward Race Thompson added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Tamar Bates had 13 points off the bench.

Lineup speculation ended when Trey Galloway was named a starter over Parker Stewart, who was one of five players and two starters suspended for Tuesday's Northwestern game because of a curfew violation.

Johnson opened with a three-pointer and an assist on a Miller Kopp three-pointer to spark a 7-0 IU surge for a quick 9-5 lead.

A double technical foul on Kopp and A.J. Hoggard was Kopp's second foul, and sent him to the bench five minutes into the game.

Michigan State responded with a 13-4 run for a 18-13 lead.

Adding to Hoosier woes, Johnson picked up his second foul to join Kopp on the bench.

Free throw shooting pushed the Spartans ahead 25-15. IU rallied with six straight points, and it would have been eight if Stewart hadn't missed a pair of free throws following a Michigan State intentional foul.

He came back with a three-pointer. The Hoosiers closed to 25-24.

Bates hit a three-pointer to help forge a pair of ties. Michigan State responded with a final run for a 37-30 halftime lead. The Spartans were 16-for-18 from the line. The Hoosiers were just 4-for-10.

IU needed less than two second-half minutes to wipe out that deficit. A Thompson inside basket gave the Hoosiers a 38-37 lead and forced an Izzo timeout. Thompson and Johnson each had four points in the 8-0 run.

A couple of minutes later, Johnson picked up his third foul, but didn't come out. Then he got his fourth and did. Woodson protested and was hit for a technical. Michigan State capitalized with a 9-1 run for a 49-42 lead, then extended it to 54-44.

"I've got to be a little bit more calm," Woodson said. "This is the first time I've gotten a technical and I said I was going to go the season without getting one, but sometimes things change."

A Jackson-Davis dunk and free throw ended that run. He added two more free throws. IU defended the Spartans into multiple empty possessions. Bates hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three, at 54-51.

Then the Spartans took control with a 14-4 run.

IU never recovered.

Next up – a Tuesday night home game against No. 14 Wisconsin, which is coming off a home loss to surging Rutgers.

"We have three days to prepare for Wisconsin," Woodson told Fischer. "I have to go back and regroup and get these guys ready to play. That's going to be a big game for us."