Indiana men’s basketball entered Sunday’s matchup with No. 13 Michigan State on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament. With just two Quadrant 1 victories and a Quad 2 loss in their previous game, the Hoosiers' opportunities to add to their resume were dwindling.
In the Cream and Crimson’s penultimate home game of the season, they never held the lead. Indiana trailed for over 39 minutes en route to a 77-64 loss to the Spartans on Sunday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Early on, Michigan State senior forward Jaxon Kohler couldn’t be stopped. Kohler scored nine of the Spartans’ first 11 points as they raced out to an 11-5 lead at the under-16 media timeout.
Indiana redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening minutes, but the Hoosiers missed seven of their first eight field goal attempts over the first five and a half minutes.
Through 10 minutes of action, Indiana only connected on three field goals and trailed by 11 points.
In the back half of the opening frame, the Hoosiers’ offense came alive. However, their inability to contain the Spartans in the half court let the deficit continue.
Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, redshirt senior guard Conor Enright, junior guard Nick Dorn and DeVries all drained longballs, but an onslaught of 3-pointers from Michigan State sophomore guard Kur Teng prevented the Hoosiers from building any lasting momentum.
Teng scored 12 points in the first half, all coming from beyond the arc. DeVries and Wilkerson led Indiana at the break with 13 and 10 points, respectively. But Teng’s hot hand and Kohler’s 14 points gave the Spartans a 45-37 lead at halftime.
In the opening minutes of the second half, both teams traded buckets. A Kohler 3-pointer and a layup from redshirt sophomore guard Jeremy Fears Jr. pushed the Spartans’ lead to 12, but DeVries responded with a long distance 3-pointer.
Each time the Hoosiers attempted to claw back, Michigan State had an answer.
Wilkerson scored seven straight Indiana points to cut the deficit to six, but Teng responded with a third-chance 3-pointer. Two minutes later, Wilkerson fought his way to the basket for a layup to make it a five-point game, but Teng again drilled a 3-pointer to halt the run.
After Wilkerson nailed a longball of his own, the Spartans rattled off a 7-0 run to reestablish control with a 67-55 lead and 9:17 left to play.
As Wilkerson continued to spearhead the Indiana offense, defensive rebounding sunk the Cream and Crimson’s hopes for a comeback. The Spartans notched nine offensive rebounds and 12 second chance points in just the second half.
Wilkerson completed his 19-point second half with a layup, but it wasn’t enough to usurp Michigan State. The Spartans’ lead didn’t fall below eight for the rest of the game as they defeated the Hoosiers 77-64, extending their losing streak to four games.
DeVries finished with 20 points to go along with Wilkerson’s 29, but the Cream and Crimson were outrebounded 35-27 by Michigan State.
Indiana will look to reignite its flailing NCAA Tournament hopes in its final home contest against Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
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.
