Couch: 3 quick takes on Michigan State women’s basketball after 73-65 win over Indiana

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Michigan State’s Theryn Hallock (4) makes a steal from Indiana’s Shay Ciezki (1) and heads to the basket in Big 10 action at the Breslin Center Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025.

1. MSU reestablishes its place in the Big Ten with win over Indiana

EAST LANSING — Michigan State’s women’s basketball team did some really good things over two games in California — namely pushing two of the nation’s better teams uncomfortably deep into the fourth quarter.

But going toe-to-toe with USC and UCLA isn’t worth the confidence it comes with if you can’t come home and beat Indiana. And entering Sunday’s game against the Hoosiers at Breslin Center, the Spartans hadn’t beaten a top 100 team, never mind one in the top 40 by any reputable metric, since winning by 30 at Michigan in late January.

Indiana — ranked No. 36 in the NET and No. 30 by HerHoopstats.com — presented a chance for MSU to reestablish its place in the Big Ten as an above-the-pack team. That’s what Sunday’s 73-65 win at Breslin Center did. The Spartans drew a line standings and essentially said, “We’re with them,” a group of seven teams with at least 10 Big Ten wins through 16 league games.

“I felt that,” MSU coach Robyn Fralick said. “We had some disappointing conference losses at home (to top 40 teams Oregon and Michigan). We go on the road play two top-five teams. I thought we played really tough. .. ‘Hey, let’s take this competitive spirit back home.’ ”

In the last eight days, MSU has shown an intriguing ceiling — as a team that, on a given night, if it gets the details right, can upset maybe anyone in the country — and also, Sunday, showed a level, a standard and a defensive grit that will help them avoid falling to teams beneath them.

The Spartans — which entered Sunday 21st in the NET rankings and 26th via HerHoop — will need to upset Ohio State on the road Wednesday and beat Minnesota at home next Saturday (and then also get some help) to climb into the top four in the Big Ten…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/couch-3-quick-takes-michigan-023811892.html

Author : Lansing State Journal

Publish date : 2025-02-24 02:38:00

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