POSTGAME:
Around these parts, we call that a shellacking. IU beats Michigan State 73-51.
The Spartans got within seven points (42-35) after a Drew Neitzel 3-pointer with a little over three minutes into the second half, but that's as close as they got.
Some telling statistics from this late afternoon tilt:
IU had 24 points off of turnovers as opposed to MSU's four.
The Hoosiers scored 17 second-chance points. Michigan State only had two of off second-chance opportunities. That was thanks to IU's 12 offensive rebounds. Numerous times in the second half, IU played volleyball against the backboard, continually getting rebounds until a shot finally fell.
Kelvin Sampson's crew simply out-mustered, out-hustled and out-athleticized (not a word) the Spartans all day.
IU is now 10-4 on the season and 1-1 in Big Ten play.
Next up for IU is a home bout with Purdue on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
HALFTIME:
When the three-point shooting fails, it's always nice to have a guy like D.J. White to fall back on.
He's 6-of-7 from the floor and has 15 points at half. IU has had many open looks from beyond the arc but are only 2-of-11 shooting from out there.
With a few more makes, IU could be up by 15 or so. Instead, IU leads with a healthy 38-27 advantage at half.
The crowd has been as loud and boisterous as they've been all season inside Assembly Hall. and the costumes have come out for Big Ten play. There are a group of students dressed up in banana costumes in one of the student sections behind the basket. In the first row of one of the side sections, a group of students are the self-proclaimed "Armon Bassett Hounds" complete with dog costumes.
See you after the game. PREGAME:
Hello and welcome back to campus. Hopefully your holidays went well and you were at least able to moderately follow the Hoosiers.
If not, here's a small recap.
Today, in just about a half hour, we have the IU Hoosiers vs. the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans just came off a tough road loss at Iowa on Thursday night, so expect them to come out with a sense of urgency, as they, like IU, look to avoid falling to 0-2 in the Big Ten early on here in conference play.
We'll be back at halftime with some thoughts on the first half.
