Indiana men’s basketball currently sits at 12-5 on the season. By overall record, the Hoosiers are tied for eighth in the Big Ten, with 11 teams from the conference projected to be in the NCAA Tournament field, per Joe Lunardi’s most recent bracketology.
Despite their seemingly strong record, the Hoosiers have routinely crumbled when facing their strongest opponents. Against the then-No. 6 University of Louisville on Dec. 6, Indiana fell behind immediately and never recovered. Just a week later, the Cream and Crimson held an eight-point second half advantage over the University of Kentucky only to collapse in the second half and lose by double digits.
As the Cream and Crimson delve deeper into their Big Ten schedule, it’s been more of the same against marquee conference opponents in back-to-back contests. First, Indiana blew a 16-point second half lead to then-No. 10 Nebraska on Saturday. Most recently, the Hoosiers were outmatched by No. 12 Michigan State, as the Spartans closed on a 28-7 run in the final 11 minutes to win 81-60 inside the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan.
Indiana has consistently shown that it can compete with high-level competition for 20 minutes. However, closing games against quality opponents and in volatile environments continues to elude the Cream and Crimson.
Indiana found success early by splitting the defense and scoring on the interior while forcing Michigan State to look for its offense on the outside. Despite only attempting 21.2 3-pointers per game heading into the matchup, seven of the Spartans’ first nine shots came from beyond the arc.
The Hoosiers remained competitive throughout the first half, jumping out to as big as a seven-point lead. But the Spartans flipped the deficit on the heels of 19 first-half points from redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. and took a 39-32 lead into the break.
“If you can't get him slowed down early, it's really hard because the bigs are running and they're sealing, and it's hard to give a lot of help because you're wrestling down there with the bigs,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said postgame of Fears. “So, I thought he did a really good job of being aggressive, getting into the paint and finishing.”
Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson kept the Cream and Crimson from falling behind, scoring 11 points in the first nine minutes of the second half, but Michigan State adjusted and held him scoreless for the rest of the contest.
While the Hoosiers tried to find production elsewhere as Michigan State denied Wilkerson, their errant passes frequently went into the hands of the Spartans. Indiana turned the ball over 14 times in the game.
“I thought we had some poor offensive possessions, which was the same thing that happened to us the other day at home, where we had some turnovers, maybe a couple of non-quality shots,” DeVries said. “And that led to their transition, and you can't give them a transition, especially here. And that's where the game just flipped.”
As the game wore on, Michigan State asserted itself as the more polished and physical team. The Spartans outrebounded the Hoosiers 37-19, and their swarming defense often prevented the Cream and Crimson from getting open looks from distance.
After a fastbreak dunk from Wilkerson tied the game at 53 with 11:19 left to play, Indiana didn’t score for nearly seven minutes. By the time redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries scored to end the drought, the Hoosiers were down by 17 points.
“Once we went from that tie game to all of a sudden, they're playing in transition, and now you've got the crowd going, and the energy,” DeVries said. “You just can’t allow those type of runs if you're going to be a good team.”
Michigan State finished the game on an extended 28-7 run, imposing its will on a Hoosier squad that continues to have no answer for their most talented opponents. The loss dropped Indiana to 0-3 in Quadrant 1 matchups, and likely out of the projected NCAA Tournament field.
While the Hoosiers have yet to topple an opponent in the top-half of the conference standings, five of their next six games are Quad 1 opportunities. The Cream and Crimson will continue their grueling Big Ten slate with a home matchup against Iowa, which ranks No. 23 in the Coaches’ Poll, ahead of a road contest with No. 4 Michigan.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
