After arguably its biggest win in three years, the IU men's basketball team looks to break a long road losing streak when it travels to No. 25 Michigan State on Sunday.
The Spartans are on a three-game losing streak themselves, most recently getting upset by in-state rival Michigan on Thursday. IU is fresh off an emotional 52-49 victory against Illinois and looking for its first road win this season.
Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
History
The Hoosiers have lost four straight to the Spartans, including a 72-58 decision last season in Assembly Hall. IU coach Tom Crean is 0-5 all-time against his former boss Tom Izzo and MSU, and the Hoosiers haven't cracked 60 points in three contests with the Spartans the past two years.
Player to watch - IU: Christian Watford, sophomore forward
As he prepared for the game, Crean tweeted that the Spartans' rebounding ability would keep him up at night. If he is going to rest well after Sunday, he is going to need a big game out of his leading rebounder and scorer.
Watford has shown he's capable of both crashing the boards and be a reliable scorer in the Big Ten already this season. In the Hoosiers' 80-61 victory against Michigan earlier this month, he had 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Since then, Watford hasn't reached double-digit rebounds. And though he had eight against Iowa, the team lost handily and Crean lamented for more focus defensively from him.
Player to watch - Michigan State: Kalin Lucas, senior guard
Coming off an Achilles heel injury in the NCAA tournament last season, many wondered if Lucas would be back to 100 percent in his senior season.
If he isn't at full strength, he sure isn't acting like it.
Lucas is averaging 15 points, four assists and more than one steal per game this season and has scored more than 20 points four times this season. In his team's loss to Michigan, Lucas scored 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
There are times, though, that it's evident he's lost a step. He scored just nine points in a loss to Purdue, eight points in a loss to Syracuse and had five turnovers in a loss to UConn.
Numbers game - 83.9:
Percentage of free throws made by IU in the past five games, including an 11-of-11 effort against Illinois. Watford leads the team at the line and is fourth in the Big Ten with an 84.6 percent clip.
What they're saying: IU coach Tom Crean, on following up after the upset win
"We have been very focused and I like our energy. You can talk as much as you want about what you need to do to close games, but no words can replace the experience of doing it. Even when we missed the opportunity to regain the lead with just over a minute left, we came back and defended.
"There was a belief that if we stayed with what we were doing and battled good things happened for us in that final minute all the way around"
