Crimson Hoosiers hope to cream Spartans

The IU men’s basketball team has little time to sulk about its tough loss to No. 15 Wisconsin Wednesday night, because another top-ranked team will visit Assembly Hall Saturday.\nThe No. 13 Hoosiers will host No. 10 Michigan State a mere 72 hours after a heart-breaking 68-66 loss to the Badgers. A last-second, banked-in 3-point shot willed in by senior Brian Butch sealed the Hoosiers’ fate.\nThe Spartans also enter the prime-time showdown off a loss to Big Ten conference-leading Purdue on Tuesday night. IU coach Kelvin Sampson said the game is crucial for his Hoosiers in their quest for a Big Ten championship.\n“Their backs are a little bit to the wall,” Sampson said about the Spartans. “They are coming off a tough loss to a really, really good team. And we are coming off a tough loss. It is a really important game for both teams.”\nThe team is covered by a cloud of controversy after the NCAA released allegations against Sampson and the program. The NCAA upgraded the self-reported violations the University submitted to it in October from secondary to major. Sampson is still the Hoosiers’ coach, but ESPN reported Thursday that Sampson’s job is hanging on a “game-by-game” basis.\nSenior forward D.J. White said after the Wisconsin game the off-the-court distractions surrounding the program will not affect the team’s performance on the court.\n“Nothing outside’s affected the team,” White said. “We’re a family, we stick together through whatever. Tonight has nothing to do with anything, we just didn’t win – that’s the bottom line.”\nAdditional attention will be focused on Saturday night’s game because ESPN’s College GameDay will visit Bloomington for the battle between two top 15 teams. The program will run live from Assembly Hall at 11 a.m., previewing Saturday’s slate of college basketball games. ESPN will begin broadcasting the show at 9 p.m.\nThe Michigan State contest is the fourth of a tough five-game stretch during which the Hoosiers have just two days off between games. IU won the first two games, road contests against Illinois and Ohio State, but lost some momentum with the loss to Wisconsin.\nSampson said he knew this period would present a difficult test for his young team.\n“We are in a stretch where we are playing a game every two days,” Sampson said. “Arguably one of our better games of the year on Sunday and then you play a really tough-minded, really good Wisconsin team. I knew this would be a tough stretch.”\nSampson refused to comment further about the NCAA’s new allegations after the Wisconsin game, saying his focus is on the team and the upcoming game against Michigan State – a game in which Sampson thinks the crowd at Assembly Hall will be loud. \n“Michigan State is one of those games where there is going to be an incredible atmosphere in here,” Sampson said.