Hoosiers Fall in East Lansing

Tuesday, January 13

East Lansing, Mich.

7:00 PM

Indiana University

12-5,3-3Big Ten

Michigan State

15-2,5-1Big Ten

Indiana

Michigan St.

1/13/2026 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Call it déjà vu if you want; a basketball repeat Indiana wanted no part of.

On Tuesday night, it came against No. 12 Michigan State at the Breslin Center when the Hoosiers, in a 53-53 second-half battle, were overwhelmed by a 19-0 Spartan run to lose 81-60.

It was similar to the second-half on Saturday against No. 10 Nebraska -- when a 16-point lead wasn't enough -- and left coach Darian DeVries searching for answers.

"Unfortunately, it was like a repeat of the other day," DeVries told Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer during the post-game radio broadcast. "We did a really good job for about 30 minutes. It was 53-53 and we were in a great spot. We had some opportunities to take the lead. Then we had a few bad possessions and turnovers that led to their transition opportunities. From there, we just we didn't finish the way we needed to."

IU lost its second straight game to fall to 12-5 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten.

"We have to get back home and figure some things out," DeVries told Fischer. "There's still a lot there. We had an opportunity where we had a chance in a tough environment against a really good team. We have to figure out a way to close that. We didn't get it done."

Guard Lamar Wilkerson led IU with 19 points. Seven other Hoosiers played and all seven scored, but none reached double figures. Guard Tayton Conerway had nine assists and five points.

Michigan State (15-2, 5-1) dominated the fast-break points (25-12), points in the paint (32-22), rebounds (37-19) and points off turnovers (29-23) along with its third-ranked defense. The Hoosiers shot 43 percent from the field and committed 14 turnovers. They did make 10 3-pointers.

First-half foul trouble and turnovers blunted IU momentum that had produced leads as large as seven points. It finished the half with 11 fouls and eight turnovers to trail 39-32. Michigan State had a 19-9 edge on points off turnovers.

A seven-minute second-half scoring drought that included six Hoosier turnovers and 19 straight Michigan State points ended any chance of an upset.

"It's impossible to guard live-ball turnovers when (the Spartans are) out in transition and throwing ahead and getting layups," DeVries told Fischer. "That's two games in a row where we're right where we need to be. We can't finish out these last 10 minutes? We didn't get it done. That's disappointing."

Guard Connor Enright picked up two fouls in the game's opening minute, sending him to the bench. Nick Dorn replaced him.

Triples by Tucker DeVries and Dorn gave IU an early 6-4 lead. Consecutive Sam Alexis dunks pushed the Hoosiers ahead 10-8. They extended that to 14-8. A Wilkerson 3-pointer made it 17-10 by scoring seven points off Michigan State's four turnovers.

Enright returned and hit a 3-pointer, but it couldn't stop the Spartans from a 9-0 run that gave them a 26-22 lead before Conerway ended it with a three-point play. Another 7-0 Michigan State surge made it 36-27. Wilkerson ended that run with a 3-pointer, but it wasn't enough. IU reached halftime trailing by seven. Wilkerson led with eight points. Five Hoosiers had two fouls.

Indiana opened the second half with a Wilkerson 3-pointer and closed within three points. A Reed Bailey layup off a Tucker DeVries assist made it 49-48 with 15 minutes left. Wilkerson's fifth 3-pointer tied it at 51-51. Michigan State's 19-0 run pushed it ahead 72-53.

The Hoosiers never recovered.

The grueling stretch continues with Saturday's home game against No. 23 Iowa (12-4, 2-3), which has lost two straight.