Michigan State really needed a victory today in Bloomington, IN to keep the shine on their big win at Purdue on Thursday. The Spartans got the W, despite a every effort from Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries, and now sit in third place in the Big Ten at 14-4.
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Michigan State got the start they wanted in this one with an early lead and the re-awakening of Jaxon Kohler. The Spartans were up 11-5 by the first media timeout behind nine points from Kohler, which consisted of three nice interior buckets and a three-pointer. On the defensive end, the Spartans primarily forced Indiana into long threes which mostly didn’t fall. The bad news for MSU in the early going was Jordan Scott picking up two quick fouls and going to the bench.
Kohler continued to contribute when play resumed, this time with a pass back out to Jeremy Fears for an open three that put the Spartans up 14-5. Indiana responded with a brief 5-0 run before it was put to rest with another Spartan triple – this one from Kur Teng.
Denham Wojcik, Cam Ward, and Trey Fort joined Teng and Kohler on the floor for MSU with about 12:30 to go in the half and Ward immediately worked for an interior bucket that put the Spartans up 21-10. But then, on the defensive end, Ward got too close to DeVries on this three point attempt and fouled him. DeVries made all three to cut the MSU lead to 21-13.
Kohler continued his heater with another triple to get the Spartan lead back to 11. He later drew a foul and hit both free throws to continue his perfect shooting start – 4-4 from both the field and the line – while also increasing the MSU lead to 26-13.
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Indiana responded with a couple threes of their own while Kohler finally missed his first field goal attempt, but Michigan State still held a 30-22 advantage with 7:58 remaining in the half.
Then it was all Kur Teng for the next few minutes as the Spartans built the lead back to 13. Teng hit three more triples, the first of which bailed MSU out with the shot clock running down, and the next two with no hesitation from the right wing.
Sam Alexis worked to keep Indiana in it with a pretty spin and jam and then by beating Kohler on the baseline for another interior hoop. But Teng’s fourth three in a row forced an IU timeout with the Hoosiers down 39-26 with 4:22 left in the half.
Indiana continued to hang around though. Wilkerson, Connor Enright, and DeVries all hit threes. At the same time, fouls also started to mount a bit for the Hoosiers. Reed Bailey and Alexis each picked up their third before the game went to halftime.
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Bailey’s third personal came when he unsuccessfully tried to disrupt a Fears to Coen Carr lob that connected. Carr hit the free throw to complete the and-one which briefly had the MSU lead back in double digits but the DeVries three made it 45-37, MSU, at the break.
After making his first four, Kohler missed his next two shots and finished the half with 14 for MSU. After hitting his first four triples, Teng missed his fifth and final attempt of the half, on the way to 12 points. DeVries with 13 and Wilkerson with 10 paced Indiana and those two would continue to keep the Hoosiers in it in the second half.
It felt like a productive first half for MSU. The Spartans scored 45, shot 58%, including 53% on threes, committed only three turnovers, and had a 14-0 advantage in bench points (thanks to Teng). Indiana, meanwhile, was held to 39% shooting and made only 6-20 of their three pointers but trailed by only eight.
Strangely, it was MSU’s rebounding troubles that kept Indiana in the game. After getting outrebounded in the win at Purdue, the Spartans found themselves down again in the battle on the glass in this one. Indiana held a 15-13 advantage at the break and, most importantly, a 5-1 advantage in offensive boards. This led to a 5-0 advantage for IU in second chance points to keep the Hoosiers within striking distance at the break.
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The second half started a bit rough for the Spartans against Indiana’s zone defense. Carr missed two open threes, and passed up some open jump shots with Indiana really sagging off him. MSU also had two quick turnovers in the first couple of minutes after the break. Carson Cooper also picked up his third foul just a minute into the second half.
It was Kohler who again got the Spartans going with a straight-away three to put MSU up ten. Fears added a drive to extend the Michigan State lead to 50-38 but Spartans couldn’t fully shake free of Indiana. A deep three from DeVries and two determined drives from Wilkerson had IU back within single digits at 54-45 with 13:50 remaining.
Indiana continued to keep the heat on from there. Wilkerson made the Spartans pay for another turnover by hitting a three and suddenly it was just a 54-48 Spartan lead.
After two offensive rebounds for Michigan State, Wojcik drove and kicked to Teng who buried his fifth three. DeVries responded for Indiana with a bucket over Kohler in the paint and it was 57-50, MSU, with 11:58 left.
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Coming out of the under-12 timeout, Carr slipped and was called for traveling. Wilkerson made the Spartans pay for another second half turnover by converting inside and getting Indiana within 57-52.
The Spartans were able to regain some separation from there though. Teng hit his sixth three when the Spartans really needed one and MSU was back up eight. Wilkerson responded yet again for Indiana with a three of his own before Jordan Scott made his presence known with his first field goal attempt – another three for MSU to get the lead back to eight.
Alexis missed for Indiana and Kohler got a straight on hook shot to fall which put MSU back up ten, 65-55. Fears added a drive to make it 69-57, Spartans with 8:20 left.
Wilkerson refused to let the Spartans off the hook though. He added Indiana’s next five points but a Fears three with the shot clock ticking away kept the Spartans up ten. Fears’ three was MSU’s only make in their last nine shots but the Spartans still maintained a 72-62 lead with 3:36 to go.
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Besides Wilkerson, DeVries was really the only other Hoosier providing offense for Indiana and he struck again coming out of the last media break. DeVries bucket over Kohler had Indiana back within eight. The Spartans missed a chance to go back up double digit when Cooper was fouled on a lob attempt from Fears. But the 78% free throw shooter missed both. After his 20 point outing against Purdue, Cooper couldn’t find the same offensive rhythm in Bloomington. Imagine what could happen for MSU if they were somehow able to combine Cooper’s offensive effort at Purdue with Kohler’s from today.
After struggling with Wilkerson all day, the Spartans were finally able to clamp down in a crucial late game sequence. The Spartans denied Wilkerson even a touch and then got an Indiana turnover with 2:25 left.
Then, Cooper was finally rewarded for his efforts by keeping possession for MSU after a missed three by Fears. Cooper couldn’t quite get the offensive board but he knocked the ball off an Indiana player to give the Spartans another chance. IU challenged the call but the review went MSU’s way. Fears took advantage by hitting a stop and shoot near the free throw line to put the Spartans up 12 and basically seal it.
It ended 77-64 with MSU getting the sweep of the Hoosier State and keeping hopes well alive for a three-seed in the NCAA tournament.
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Wilkerson finished with 29 for Indiana and DeVries added 20. Kohler got back on the right side of things for MSU with 21 points and 13 boards. Fears added another 21 points to go with nine assists. Teng added 18 on 6-8 three point shooting.
The Spartans cooled off a bit in the second half but still shot 49% overall and 12-24 on three pointers. The Spartans also overcame their first half rebounding struggles to win the battle on the boards 35-27. This included several key offensive rebounds in the second half to extend possessions.
Michigan State will be back in action Thursday when they host Rutgers on Senior Night.
