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IU basketball: Indiana at Michigan State game day essentials

February 21, 2023 Donald Kane IUBB 2

Game Day Essentials:

 No. 17 Indiana (19-8, 10-6) at Michigan State (16-10, 8-7)

  • Tip Time: 9:00 p.m. Eastern
  • Location: Breslin Center (15,000), East Lansing, Michigan
  • Television: ESPN (Brian Custer, Jay Bilas, Myron Medcalf)
  • Stream: Watch ESPN
  • IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
  • Point Spread: Michigan State is a 3-point favorite.
  • KenPom Projected Score: No. 33 Michigan State 69  No. 19 Indiana 68
  • Series: Indiana leads 72-58. IU won last meeting 82-69 on Jan. 22, 2023

Three keys from the first meeting:

  1. Bates and Galloway shine, TJD figures it out. Michigan State threw doubles, digs, traps and everything else at Trayce Jackson-Davis.  Meanwhile, freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino was struggling. Indiana needed others to step up and they got massive games from guards Tamar Bates and Trey Galloway, who scored 17 points apiece and made 8-of-9 threes.  Jackson-Davis was inefficient early with an 0-of-4 start but ended up with his second straight 30-point game.
  2. The defense responds. Indiana opened the game like a team that wasn’t ready for a noon tip.  Michigan State made 7-of-11 shots in the first six minutes, and IU fell behind by nine.  But the Hoosiers held the Spartans to 16-of-42 shooting (38.1 percent) the rest of the way.
  3. Threes and frees. For several years, poor 3-point and free throw shooting has been the downfall of IU basketball.  But on Sunday, those two areas made the difference.  The Hoosiers made an impressive 9-of-15 from three and 21-of-24 from the line to put away the Spartans.  Jackson-Davis is on a two game run of making 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from the stripe.

Michigan State’s results and roster:

Michigan State is 4-6 in their last 10 games after winning seven in a row from December 7 to January 10.

They have four top-40 KenPom wins on their resume; on a neutral court vs. No. 33 Kentucky, vs. No. 27 Rutgers, vs. No 39 Iowa and vs. No. 18 Maryland.

MSU has lost two games at home this year — to Purdue and Northwestern.

Michigan State Notes:

  • The team’s game against Minnesota last Wednesday night was postponed following a mass shooting on campus on Feb. 13.  This is their first home game since the incident.
  • MSU is 10-2 at home, including 5-2 in the Big Ten.
  • In Big Ten Conference games, MSU is fourth in the league in scoring defense (64.13 ppg), 2nd in field goal percentage defense (41.2%) and 1st 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.4%).
  • The Spartans are No. 5 nationally in the NET Strength of Schedule.
  • Per KenPom.com, MSU has faced the nation’s No. 1 toughest slate of opposing offenses in the country, the
    12th-toughest slate of opposing defenses and ranks No. 3 overall in strength of schedule.

Michigan State’s 2022-23 KenPom Highlights:

Tempo – No. 307 (Offense No. 271 / Defense No. 333)

Offensive Efficiency – No. 75

  • Michigan State’s effective field goal percentage of 50.3 percent is No. 195 nationally. They are No. 274 nationally in two-point percentage (47.8) and rank No. 38 in three-point percentage (37.0).
  • The Spartans share the ball, as assists occur on 57.5 percent of field goals made, No. 35. They don’t turn it over much either (16.7 percent turnover rate, No. 65).
  • While they shoot well from beyond the arc, Michigan State gets most of their points from two, as three-point attempts account for just 32.6 percent of field goal attempts, No. 300.
  • MSU shoots decent from the foul line (74.6 percent, No. 79), but they have one of the lowest free throw attempt rates in the country at 24.0 percent of field goal attempts (No. 349).

Defensive Efficiency – No. 27

  • Michigan State ranks No. 24 in overall opponent effective field goal percentage (46.3), including No. 15 in three-point percentage (29.2) and No. 86 in two-point percentage (47.9).
  • The Spartans limit opponent’s second chance opportunities, as opponent’s get offensive rebounds on just 25.3 percent of possessions, No. 55.
  • Tom Izzo’s team is more fundamental than aggressive, forcing turnovers on only 14.7 percent of possessions, No. 350.

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