IU has chance to make noise in Big Ten

This isn't your normal Michigan State squad. \nSaddled with injuries in the ever-important early fall months of the season, the Spartans were forced to use assistant coaches to fill in for players during practice sessions.\n"It's probably the worst year I've had as far as practices," said Spartan coach Tom Izzo, who is in his 12th season as coach at Michigan State. "Everyone thinks I've enjoyed this team -- I haven't enjoyed them at all. It's not their fault, we just don't practice. We can't practice. There's not enough players to compete against ... Everyone loses some players, but no one was as slim as us to start with."\nIzzo now has sophomore guard Maurice Joseph and freshman forward Raymar Morgan back. Both missed a number of games in December. Morgan also missed the Spartans' Big Ten opener, a loss at Iowa on Thursday night.\nIt's going to be a trying year for the Spartans, who are now 0-2 in Big Ten play, as they look to find some semblance of cohesiveness as a squad while conference play drags on. \nLate Sunday afternoon, the Hoosiers simply out-mustered, out-played and out-hustled the Spartans at every turn during their 73-51 victory in \nAssembly Hall.\nFor one of the few times all season, IU looked like the far superior athletic squad on \nthe hardwood.\nThe Hoosiers were a terror on the boards, racking up 12 on the offensive end, which aided in its 17 second-chance points for the game.\nSenior guard Errek Suhr was up to his old tricks again, drawing offensive fouls and playing tough, pressure defense against larger and more athletic opponents.\nAt one instance after a missed 3-point attempt by junior forward Lance Stemler in the first half, Errek "Mr. Scrappy" Suhr dove out of bounds for the errant rebound on the sideline, tipped it back to Stemler, who himself dove on the floor to gain possession. Soon after, the ball was into the big man, D.J. White, and it was another easy two-point bucket for the junior forward.\nThat's been the Hoosiers' calling card this season. \nThey don't have the most athletic squad in the conference or a game-changing standout player. Although if White continues to improve at this clip, that's certainly up for debate.\nBut they'll outwork you. They just seem to want it more than their opponents. \nAnd they've finally figured out coach Kelvin Sampson's offensive structure and are scoring in their sets with far more frequency. That's key for the Hoosiers, who have struggled at times on the offensive end. They've shown more discipline with the ball the last few games and have significantly lowered their turnover rate from the start of the season.\nAfter Big Ten powers Ohio State and Wisconsin, the \nconference is wide open. There's a logjam of talent and skill between IU, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa and Michigan State.\nIt's going to come down to hustle, smarts and heart if IU is going to emerge from that middle pack and grab the third -- or perhaps a higher spot -- in conference.\n"We don't have a large margin of error," Sampson said. "We don't have a lot of size. We just have to make up for it in different areas. For us, we just have to scrap and claw and fight and find ways to win."\nThat style should suit the Hoosiers well as the Big Ten season rages on.