The Hoosiers take on Michigan State in Assembly Hall today in their eighteenth Big Ten game of the season.
Tipoff is set for 12:00 p.m. ET and will be aired on Fox.
TheHoosier.com has gathered previews and predictions for the game below.
1. Setting the tone early -- Michigan State is beat up from a health standpoint. Indiana needs to start fast and not let its foot off the gas Saturday afternoon. A slow start will allow a Spartans team that still has a lot of talent to hang around.
2. Juwan Morgan -- A shoulder injury in the first meeting between these teams limited him to just 13 minutes. It will be interesting to see what impact a fully healthy Juwan Morgan has.
3. De'Ron Davis -- Could a big day be in store for him? His conditioning is likely much better than it was when he came off the bench against the Spartans. With Nick Ward still out indefinitely and expected to miss Saturdays' game, Davis has a chance to have a big impact for IU, especially in the paint.
• About the matchup: In the first meeting with the Spartans, Indiana made 10 of 20 3-pointers and tallied 21 assists and 20 offensive rebounds — about double their average in every category. Meanwhile, MSU missed 14 of 22 free throws, including three front ends of one-and-one situations. In other words, it took a pretty good storm of statistical anomalies for the Spartans to lose in overtime. By dominating the glass, especially offensively, Indiana effectively kept the Spartans’ transition game in check. It didn’t look like a fluke, because athletically, the Hoosiers match up just fine with MSU in most areas. They also have two of the Big Ten’s more gifted players in senior power forward Juwan Morgan and freshman guard Romeo Langford. Henry spent a good bit of time guarding Langford. If McQuaid is limited by his sprained ankle, you’ll likely see that again.
Indiana, of course, is fighting just to avoid having to play on Wednesday of the Big Ten tournament later this month, but the Hoosiers do have a chance to play spoiler on Saturday while also keeping their slim postseason hopes alive. Michigan State comes to Bloomington on a five-game winning streak and looking to avenge its early February loss to the Hoosiers at the Breslin Center.
The Spartans are also a wounded group with Joshua Langford out for the season (stress fracture) and Nick Ward currently sidelined with a left hand injury. Senior guard Matt McQuaid is also battling a sprained ankle, but is expected to play according to comments made by Tom Izzo on Thursday.
Predictions and Probabilities
TheHoosier.com Staff Predictions
Jon Sauber: Michigan State 67, Indiana 65
Stu Jackson: Indiana 70, Michigan State 64
KenPom
Michigan State 72, Indiana 64 (77 percent chance Michigan State wins)
Thrill Score: 64.6 (No. 10 among Saturday's games)
ESPN
Michigan State 80.6 percent
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