Michigan State 103, Indiana 74
IU's title dreams dealt big blow
Hoosiers fall behind in Big Ten standings
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Eric Gordon made his way to the basket, but lost control of the ball. D.J. White picked it up and Indiana eventually worked it to Jordan Crawford, who in turn got it stolen by Michigan State’s Kalin Lucas.
Lucas raced to the other end of the floor and finished with an uncontested layup.
The sequence occurred five minutes into Sunday’s game at the Breslin Center, but was a microcosm of an eventual 103-74 Spartans’ victory.
Indiana picked a terrible time to have its worst performance in a long time. The No. 12 Hoosiers didn’t play much transition defense and didn’t have an answer for Michigan State’s hot shooting from the outside. As a result, IU’s hopes of a Big Ten regular-season title took a serious blow.
Indiana (24-5, 13-3) fell one game behind Purdue and Wisconsin for first place in the conference standings. Each team has two games remaining.
Relegated to the spoilers’ role, the No. 19 Spartans (23-6, 11-5) got 20 points from Raymar Morgan to end the Hoosiers’ four-game winning streak.
“They are the best transition team, make or miss, in the league,” IU interim coach Dan Dakich said. “We went through that and they were still able to do it. It was a frustrating day with that. That’s the emphasis when you play Michigan State. They beat us back, ran past us. That should never happen.”
Michigan State had 22 fast-break points and added 13 three-pointers. The Spartans shot 60.7 percent from the floor (77.8 in the first half).
It’s the first time an opponent has scored 100 points against the Hoosiers since Wake Forest topped IU 100-67 on Dec. 2, 2003. The 29-point defeat is the worst since falling at Wisconsin 79-45 on Jan. 6, 2004.
The 103 points are the most the Hoosiers have allowed since giving up 112 against Michigan on Feb. 22, 1998.
“It was real embarrassing,” said Gordon, who had 22 points. “Usually you don’t see too many Big Ten teams score 100 points. It was an embarrassing game for us.”
Like the first meeting on Feb. 16, IU got off to an awful start Sunday. The Spartans jumped ahead 15-4 in the previous game, but the Hoosies won 80-61.
That’s where the comparisons between the games end. On Sunday, Michigan State never slowed down and IU never rallied.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Gordon and Crawford got IU within 25-16 at 12:26 of the first half. The Spartans then went on a 21-3 run to build a 46-19 lead. Drew Neitzel made three three-pointers during the stretch.
IU entered the game allowing 63.8 points per game. The Spartans had 59 at halftime.
That’s the most points IU had allowed in any half this season (Chattanooga scored 50 in the first half of the Nov. 12 season opener).
Many of the points came in transition. Time and again, the Spartans would beat the Hoosiers down the court for an easy layup or dunk.
“We gave them too many easy looks,” Dakich said. “On a pick-and-roll they dunked twice. That shouldn’t happen.”
IU will need some serious help to get a share of its first Big Ten title since 2002.
“Now it’s in the hands of two other teams,” White said. “All we can do is win our two games and see what happens.”
lpope@jg.net
Indiana’s secondary could have a Bishop Luers look to it in a couple of years.