IU to take on Michigan St.

John Treloar knows what IU has to do if it hopes to upend Michigan State at 7 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall. \nAbout 45 minutes into IU's practice Monday, the assistant coach barked this mind-boggling statistic: Michigan State has out-rebounded its opponent in 115 of its last 122 games. \nWith that, the Hoosiers went to work, blocking out and crashing the glass in preparation for coach Tom Izzo's physical, hard-working Spartans. \n"It's big," IU coach Mike Davis said of rebounding tonight. "We need our guards to rebound the ball. Even if you work hard, (MSU) will probably beat you on the boards. It's a must for us to come out and rebound, all five guys."\nThe No. 25 Spartans (9-5, 0-1 Big Ten) are out-rebounding their counterparts by an average of 10 boards per game this season and average a Big Ten best 42 rebounds (13.8 offensive) per game. \nFour of Michigan State's five starters average more than four rebounds per game. \nIn the win over Penn State Saturday, IU's guards -- Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby and senior Dane Fife -- combined for only seven rebounds, which didn't satisfy Davis. \nThe job will be tougher tonight, and not just for the backcourt. \n"We did a good job of keeping Penn State off (the boards)," forward Jarrad Odle said. "If we don't come out, block out and get on the boards, we'll get beat."\nIU's inside game will get a boost from the return of sophomore center George Leach, who sprained his ankle during the tip-off at Northwestern Wednesday. Leach did not play against Penn State, but Davis said Leach, who ran and moved smoothly at practice Monday, is good to go tonight. \nBut as soon as Leach bounced back, Hornsby went down. The 6-foot-5 swingman sat out Monday's practice after knocking his knee on the floor late in the first half against Penn State. Davis said he wasn't aware of Hornsby's injury until just before practice Monday, but hopes he will be available tonight.\nPersonnel hasn't mattered lately in the series, which has featured some of the league's best games. The home team has won 15 of the last 16 games in the series, and IU has upset the Spartans the last two times they visited Bloomington. \nKirk Haston's three-pointer at the buzzer beat then-No. 1 MSU last January, and a Lynn Washington putback upended the No. 5 Spartans in 2000. Earlier that season, MSU edged IU 77-71 in overtime in East Lansing.\nThe loss of Haston, who entered the NBA draft last summer rather than returning for his senior season, is something the Hoosiers (9-5, 2-0) have seemed to put behind them. Izzo hasn't.\n"(Haston) could stretch the defense," he said. "He was a very good rebounder. You put all those things together and (IU) lost a guy who's in the NBA. I still think they have a very good team, but I think that no doubt that loss hurt them some. Probably a couple of players have to step up."\nLike Odle, who has exploded in Big Ten play, averaging 13.5 points and 12 rebounds per game. He is expected to be back in the starting lineup tonight in what will be just his second start of the season. \nOdle's play has helped relieve pressure on the IU backcourt, which has sputtered of late. Coverdale's three-point shooting has dipped to 32 percent, Fife has missed all 10 of his field goals in the last two games and Hornsby missed all six of his three-pointers against Penn State. \nMichigan State holds opponents to a league-low 39.4 percent from the field and just 27.6 percent from the three-point line. \n"You just have to keep digging in," Davis said of his suddenly cold-shooting guards. "We'll make some shots one day. We haven't had a game yet where everybody was hitting. If it wasn't for our defense, we'd be in serious trouble."\nThat defense has put IU in the position to get off to its best league start since the 1993-1994 season, when it opened the Big Ten 3-0. IU hasn't won three straight games yet this season. The Hoosiers, who will play three consecutive road games after tonight, are sharing the early conference lead with Ohio State and Michigan, thanks to Saturday's upsets of No. 13 Iowa, No. 9 Illinois and Michigan State, which played a portion of the loss at Minnesota without sophomore guard and leading scorer Marcus Taylor.\nTaylor is expected to play tonight and leads a cast of Spartans that are a bit vague, compared to last year's bunch. MSU lost four starters, including junior Jason Richardson and freshman Zach Randolph to the NBA. \nStill, six Spartans average at least seven points per game, and regardless of who's on the floor, Davis is impressed.\n"They are a very good basketball team," Davis said. "Izzo is the best. He gets his guys to play at that level, and it's passed down to each group coming in. They all play hard"