Game Day Essentials
Indiana (16-7, 7-6) at No. 17 Michigan State (17-6, 8-4)
- Tip Time: 3:30 p.m. Eastern
- Location: The Breslin Center, East Lansing, Michigan
- Television: Fox (Tim Brando and Stephen Bardo)
- IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
- Stream: Fox Sports Live
- Point Spread: Michigan State is a 4-point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: Michigan State 70 Indiana 65
- Series: Indiana leads 71-57. MSU won last meeting 64-58 on 3/2/21.
More Game Coverage
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- Watch: IU basketball head coach Mike Woodson Q&A as Hoosiers prepare for MSU
- Watch: Michigan State coach Tom Izzo discusses state of his team and Indiana
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo
In his 27th year, Tom Izzo (Northern Michigan, ’77) is 660-260 (.717), and 319-147 (.685) in the Big Ten, as the head coach of the Michigan State basketball program. He ranks as the winningest coach in Michigan State history, having passed his mentor Jud Heathcote with his 341st career victory on Nov. 28, 2009.
In his 26 seasons as a head coach, Izzo has captured eight National Coach of the Year awards, including the Clair Bee Award in 2005 and NABC honors in 2001 and 2012. In 1999, Izzo was named National Coach of the Year by Basketball Times, while earning similar honors from The Associated Press, Basketball News and the USBWA in ’98. He also earned National Coach of the Year accolades from CBSSports.com in 2012. He earned Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1998, 2009 and 2012. Izzo was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on September 9, 2016, cementing his status as one of the game’s all-time greats.
Chasing Bob Knight
Izzo is approaching the Big Ten record for overall wins by a league coach with at least 10 years in the conference. Former Indiana coach Bob Knight won 662 games in 29 years in Bloomington (662-240, .734). Izzo has a career record of 660-260 (.717) and needs three more wins to become the all-time leader. Knight is the all-time leader for Big Ten Conference wins (353), with Izzo second at 319.
MSU Notes
The Spartans have been led this year by a stingy defense, which ranks among the leaders in the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (No. 3, 40.6%), 3-point field goal percentage defense (No. 1, 30.0%), rebounding margin (No. 3, +6.26 rpg) and blocked shots (No. 1, 5.78 bpg).
Senior forward Gabe Brown is one of two players scoring in double figures and one of eight players averaging at least 5.0 points per game. Brown leads the team with 12.8 ppg, while adding 4.4 rebounds and leads the team in 3-pointers
made with 55.
Junior forward Malik Hall is second on the team in scoring with 10.1 ppg, while adding 4.8 rpg and 1.2 apg. He is averaging 10.4 ppg and 5.3 rpg in Big Ten games.
Freshman guard Max Christie is tied for third on the team with 9.9 points and has been named Big Ten Freshman of the
Week five times.
Senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. is averaging 9.9 ppg and leads the team with 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game.
Redshirt senior forward Joey Hauser adds 7.2 ppg and is second on the team with 6.0 rpg, while junior forward Julius Marble is averaging 5.9 ppg and 2.5 rpg.
Junior guard Tyson Walker is averaging 7.2 ppg and is second on the team with 4.4 assists and sophomore teammate A.J. Hoggard is averaging 6.3 ppg and leads the team with 4.8 assists. They have split the point guard duties this season, with Walker starting all 23 games and averaging 22.3 mpg while Hoggard is averaging 19.3 off the bench.
Michigan State has found comfort in playing at home, carrying an 9-2 record (4-2 in the Big Ten) at the Breslin Center. The Spartans’ two losses came to Northwestern and No. 14 Wisconsin.
The Spartans are averaging 76.8 points per game at home and shooting 47.8 percent from the floor, including 39.7 percent from 3-point land.
MSU has a +6.2 advantage in rebounding at home (39.1 to 32.9).
Three players are scoring in double figures at home, with Gabe Brown leading the way at 12.8 points per game. Max Christie is averaging 11.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists, while Malik Hall is averaging 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds. Marcus Bingham adds 9.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game.
Senior forward Marcus Bingham Jr. has been climbing the MSU record books for blocked shots this year. His 55 blocked shots, 2.5 per game, ranks third in the Big Ten Conference and is tied for No. 24 in the country. He has nine games this year with at least three blocks and seven games with at least four. Bingham needs one more to pass Matt Costello (2012-
16) for second place and eight more to pass Xavier Tillman (2017-20) for the all-time lead.
One of the keys for Michigan State’s success this season has been the play of its bench, which is averaging 25.8 points, 16.4 rebounds and 7.0 assists while shooting 49.0 percent from the floor.
Spartans’ KenPom Highlights
Tempo – No. 145 (Offense – No. 61 / Defense No. 327)
- It’s a familiar tempo profile for MSU, with an offense that looks to push off of misses and a defense that makes teams earn everything in the half court.
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Offensive efficiency – No. 31
- Making 38.8 percent of their 3-pointers, MSU is No. 9 nationally in that category. Hall and Walker are both above 50 percent on the season, and Brown is the volume leader, making 38.5 percent on 130 attempts.
- At 61.9 percent, MSU is No. 15 in assists on field goals made. Hoggard’s 47.6 percent assist rate is No. 1 in the country, and Walker at 36.7 is No. 17.
- MSU makes 76 percent of its free throws, No. 39 nationally.
- Turnovers have been a problem. The Spartans’ 20.4 turnover rate is No. 286 nationally.
- At 32.3 percent, Michigan State is No. 53 in the country in offensive rebounding rate.
Defensive efficiency – No. 50
- MSU’s effective field goal defense is No. 37 nationally, led by limiting opponents to just 30 percent (No. 35) from behind the 3-point arc.
- The Spartans don’t look to force turnovers and instead focus on defensive principles and scouting. They are No. 315 with a 15.9 percent forced turnover rate.
- Michigan State’s block rate of 15.3 percent is No. 11
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