Michigan State has looked better as of late, winning five straight games. Will the team make it six after a trip to Assembly Hall to take on Indiana?
TV schedule: Saturday, February 3, 8:15 p.m. ET. ESPN
Arena: Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana
The good news for Michigan State is that the program has won five in a row after losing two of three games. The bad news is that they weren’t in impressive fashion, having to survive against mediocre teams such as Penn State and Maryland. It’s a bit unfair to be judging a top-five team in this fashion, but that’s what happens when you’re Final Four or bust.
They have a primetime battle with Purdue next Saturday, so they’ll have to continue to avoid looking past these next opponents. First up is Indiana, who after a solid start in the Big Ten with a 4-2 record, has fallen back to earth, losing four of the team’s past five games. The latest came in a 15-point loss at Ohio State. Devonte Green led the Hoosiers with 20 points off the bench, along with 15 from leading scorer Juwan Morgan.
These two have played before this season, with the Spartans dominating 85-57. Miles Bridges led all scorers with 22 points while Nick Ward had 18 points and 13 rebounds in the game. Robert Johnson, who is unfortunately out for the season now with an injury, had 21 to pace Indiana. The key stat in that game was Michigan State’s rebounding advantage, winning the battle of the boards 44-27.
According to the latest edition of Busting Brackets’ Bracketology, the Spartans have received a No. 4 seed, one of four Big Ten teams to get a bid. Because of the softness of the conference schedule, this Michigan State team needs to avoid non-Purdue losses from here on out in order to maintain a protected seed.
With the off the court issues involving Tom Izzo, the Spartans might have some issues on the road. Plus, the Hoosiers have shown the ability before to play above their competition. I look for this to be closer than the first battle, but for the favorite to win again.
Prediction: Michigan State 74 – Indiana 63