Hoosiers' stifle defense stops Spartans

INDIANAPOLIS- Tom Izzo said he noticed the difference from the opening tip. Spartan Marcus Taylor said the same thing. And even though Michigan State realized it early, they couldn't do anything about it.\nThe Hoosiers were just more intense than the Spartans Friday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. That difference, particularly on defense, led to fourth-seeded IU's 67-56 win against the fifth-seeded Spartans in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. \nSophomore forward Jared Jeffries led the Hoosiers with 14 points while junior guard Tom Coverdale and senior guard Dane Fife each had 11 points. Senior Jarrad Odle and junior Jeff Newton each had 10. Taylor had a game-high 20 and Adam Ballinger added 12 for the Spartans.\nThe Hoosiers will meet eighth-seeded Iowa in the semifinals at 1:45 p.m. Saturday after the Hawkeyes beat top-seeded Wisconsin Friday, 58-56. IU (20-10) swept two games from Iowa (18-14) during the regular season.\nFriday, Izzo said the Hoosiers had too much intensity for the Spartans to rally after finding themselves down 33-24 at halftime.\n"We told our players come tourney time, the intensity picks up,"\nIzzo said. "It doubles what it is in the regular season. It's a lot more physical and we didn't rise up to that. They took it to us in every way from the opening play."\nSophomore A.J. Moye, who said the Hoosiers weren't focused when they lost at Michigan State Feb. 24, said Friday that IU was ready for the Spartans this time. The focus and intensity was no more evident than on the defensive end. \nThe Spartans shot 45 percent from the field Friday, but they forced shots and committed 21 turnovers, including 12 in the first half. The Hoosiers had 10 steals.\n"That's the way we have to play to be a really good basketball team and that's the level," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I'm trying to get them to play at every single game all the time."\nIU played with a methodical offense and aggressive defense. The Hoosiers used 10 points from Fife to get a nine-point lead at the half, but the Spartans knew they could come back against IU, having done so in February. \nA 16-footer by Taylor cut the Hoosiers' lead to 35-30 just more than two minutes into the second half. IU went straight to Jeffries, the Big Ten Player of the Year, the next several possessions. Jeffries scored five straight points and the Hoosiers rebuilt their lead to 43-32 on a three-point play by Jeffries with 14:09 left.\nJeffries had 11 of his 14 points after the break. Going 0-for-4 from three-point range in the second half, the Hoosiers proved they can win a big game without having a huge night shooting.\n"I just think the way our system is setup it looks like we rely on the three-point shot, but really we don't," Davis said. "What we try and do is get the ball inside to Jeffries because he's our guy." \nMeanwhile Taylor was trying to rally his team the way he did when the Spartans came from 16 down in the first half to beat IU 57-54 at the Breslin Center less than two weeks ago. But Taylor said IU's defense Friday was too much.\n"They were just way more intense than us. From the opening tip, they were denying everything we were trying to get into," Taylor said.\n"We came out in the second half and tried to run things sharper, but it seemed like we were a step slow on everything."\nCoverdale epitomized the hustle Friday. In one sequence he saved a ball on one end of the floor and brought the ball the length of the floor for a layup that ended with him on the floor again.\nAll this with Coverdale having to deal with a sore back.\n"We know defense is going to win games for us," Coverdale said. "At the beginning of the season that's one of the things Coach Davis talked about. Sometimes we shoot the ball well and people talk about that but we know our defense is what wins games for us."\nFor the game the Hoosiers shot over 52 percent from the field against a Spartan team that led the Big Ten and was eighth in the nation in defensive field goal percentage. But offense wasn't Davis' concern going into Friday.\n"We knew it'd be a dogfight," Davis said. "I thought we came out tonight defensively and really established ourselves. I thought my team fought hard."\nAs much as he hated to see his team go down Friday, Izzo couldn't help but admit that he liked what he saw from IU. Some of those things he saw a reminiscent of his Michigan State teams that have been to the past three Final Fours.\n"I said all along that they don't get enough credit for how good they are defensively. They're just tough," Izzo said. "I complained about a few calls which was probably foolish on my part because I kind of liked the way they were playing and I thought it was great. They were just more aggressive"