- Home
- Indiana Humbles MSU 71-67, Are the Spartans In Trouble?
Indiana Humbles MSU 71-67, Are the Spartans In Trouble?
Hoosiers Stun MSU with Adjusted Zone Defense, MSU Continues to Struggle Shooting
**Breslin Center- East Lansing, MI**
After a better start, this time it was the Hoosiers who humbled Michigan State in the second half, countering multiple runs after MSU ended the first down 3 points.
Combined with another poor 3-point shooting night (4-23), the Spartans were stymied on offense and gave up 13 points off 11 turnovers was enough to win a close game, 71-67. The Hoosiers (15-10, 6-8) stunned the Izzone, led by Malk Reneau (19 points, 8-19 FGs, 3-5 FTs and 12 rebounds) and supported by Oumar Ballo (14 points, 10 rebounds, but fouled out), Luke Goode (10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals) and Myles Rice (10 points, 3-7 FG, 3-5 FTs, 2 rebounds). The Spartans struggled again shooting overall, 21-55 FGs and gave up the edge in points-in-the-paint with enough missed free throws to make the difference.
The crowd was excited, expecting to see a rowdy squad take down Indiana and celebrate Coach Izzo breaking Bob Knight’s Big Ten All-Time Wins record. Instead, they were soberingly reminded at how much parody there has been the last month of conference play. Home team favorites losing and sometimes blown out, in shocking upsets just shows how even the bottom teams can’t be counted out at all. Have the Spartans become too “fat and sassy,” overall?
It’s becoming clear that the guards collectively cannot handle opposing guards with length and are physical, Fears has looked timid and Aikns simply cannot create for himself off the dribble and is mired in a brutal slump of his own, minus his defensive inefficiencies along with Jase has been hot-and-cold guarding the perimeter and some games he is simply off. The forwards have been in decline. Zapala fades away at times and you forget what he’s capable of, Xavier Booker has been a ghost, relying on mostly Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper and Coen Carr to carry the load and if one is off, it really compounds their inability to contribute, especially on the offensive end as usually someone is dealing with foul trouble too.
Since their hot start, MSU is facing a flood of water coming onboard. Do they have what it takes to rebound on the road in Champaign? They will need to rely on their defensive strengths to slow the game down for Illinois and somehow, create a foul mismatch in their favor to get to the free throw line. Early fouls to their best shooter played a big factor in Game 1 and MSU will look to replicate and own in the paint, to hold off Illinois. The Fighting Illini will look to hit from the outside and win enough offensive rebounds and turnover margin to have enough extra possessions to come out victorious.
TEAM STATS:
Spartans: 21-55 FG (38.2%), 4-23, 3-PT (17.4%), 21-25 FT (84.0%)
Hoosiers: 24-61 FG (39.3%), 10-27, 3-PT (37.0%), 16-23 FT (69.6%)
Record/Rankings & More:19-4 (10-2, T1st-Big Ten) Rankings: #11 AP / #11 Coaches Poll **Updated-time of writing is prior to 2/10 games**
Updated KenPom- Off: 26th / Def: 11th. Adjusted Tempo: 122nd. SOS Net Rtg: 47th (8.63)
Updated Bart Torvik- ADJOE: 31st/ADJDE: 11th / EFF.FGD%: 45.6 (16th) / ORBD %: 37.1 (13th) & DRBD %: 25.8 (22nd)
Other Metrics: KPI (18th), ESPN SoR (15th), ESPN BPI (17th), T-Rank: 16th — #5 in FT % (80.3%), #9 in FTM/game (18.7) and sit 16th with 5.2 bpg
FULL KenPom Stats: https://kenpom.com/index.php
FULL Bart Torvik Stats: https://barttorvik.com/#
FULL T-Rank Stats: https://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2025/net-teamsheets-plus#google_vignette
NEXT ON THE CLOCK:
at Illinois, Saturday 2/15 at 8:00pm EST on FOX.
Share & Comment: