Indiana men’s basketball: 3 Things to know about Michigan State

Indiana men’s basketball will look to bounce back after a devastating home loss to Northwestern that severely damaged the Hoosiers’ NCAA Tournament hopes. Coming to town is a Michigan State team fresh off an impressive win at Mackey Arena, where Indiana was blown out by nearly 30 points last week.

If there is a path to the Big Dance for Indiana, it starts with a win over the Spartans. This was likely the case even before the loss to Northwestern, but it’s become basically a must-win game for Darian DeVries if he wants to make the tournament in his first year as Indiana’s head coach.

Advertisement

This is a Michigan State team Indiana has seen already this season, suffering a 21-point loss in East Lansing in mid January. This rematch will be a good test of whether the Hoosiers have grown since that first matchup and how much fight is left in this group.

Here are 3 things to know about Sparty before Sunday’s game:

Defense

Michigan State in 2026 is a well-rounded team that has the parts to compete in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments, but it starts with the defense, which comes in at sixth nationally in KenPom’s efficiency ratings.

Last time out, the Spartans clamped down on Indiana’s offense, holding everyone but Lamar Wilkerson under 10 points in the contest. Indiana has matured since that meeting, but secondary scoring remains an issue, one that Indiana will have to overcome against one of the top defenses in the country this Sunday.

Advertisement

Part of what makes them so tough for opposing offenses is that they lead the country in opposing offensive rebound rate. Tom Izzo has a long, athletic group this year that excels on the glass – another area that Indiana has really struggled with this year.

Overcoming this defense will require Indiana to be at its absolute best, with somebody, preferably multiple players, besides Wilkerson scoring and maximum effort on every rebound.

Jeremy Fears

Last time out, Indiana had absolutely no answer for Jeremy Fears, who went for 23…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/indiana-men-basketball-3-things-150000050.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-02-28 15:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.