The Indiana Hoosiers will take on the Michigan State Spartans early next year on Jan. 23, 2020. The matchup will take place at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington in the heart of Indiana's Big Ten Conference slate.
The Spartans are one of top teams in the country and will be competing for a national championship run by the end of the season. They'll be a tough task for the Hoosiers, as they would for any team in the country.
Key losses: Kenny Goins, Matt McQuaid, Nick Ward
Key returners: Cassius Winston, Xavier Tillman, Joshua Tillman, Aaron Henry
Newcomers: Rocket Watts, Steven Izzo, Malik Hall, Julius Marble
2018-19 record: 32-7 (16-4 in the Big Ten)
2018-19 result: Loss to Texas Tech in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament
Series: 48-16-2 Michigan State
The Spartans begin their season season at No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first time in program history. Under head coach Tom Izzo, whose tenure dates back to 1995, Michigan State will be looking for another deep tournament run come March 2020.
Michigan State suffered a loss to Texas Tech 61-51 in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament after appearing in the program's eighth Final Four appearance under Izzo. Three contributors have since departed, but the team is returning three starters — not counting junior guard Joshua Langford, who isn't expected to return to the lineup until February due to a foot injury.
The 2018-2019 Big Ten Player of the year Cassius Winston returns to the starting lineup as a senior this season. After leading the team in points and assists last year, he'll be the catalyst to the Michigan State offense. Alongside Winston, the Spartans welcome back junior Xavier Tillman. The 6-foot-8 junior is slated to have an increased workload this season after playing well as the first man off the bench. He accounted for 10 points per game a year ago.
Aaron Henry will also slot in as a starter who is due for an uptick in production. By the end of the season, Michigan State will have an experienced, four-player nucleus on its way to a projected Big Ten Championship, but it's been nearly two decades since a Big Ten team cut down the nets as an NCAA champion. Coincidentally, it was Izzo's Michigan State squad that won back in 2000.
By the time the Spartans roll into Memorial Stadium on Jan. 23, there's a chance Langford will be back from his nagging foot injury. Indiana was able to defeat Michigan State in East Lansing last season, 79-75, in overtime after a falling into seven-game losing streak before the game. The Hoosiers followed up by defeating the Spartans 63-62 in Bloomington on March 2.
Winston averaged 23 points over those two games, while the rest of the Michigan State roster was contained. Indiana will have to bottle up all of the viable scoring threats again, while limiting Winston's facilitation of the basketball this season to come away with a win for the third time in two years against its Big Ten rival.
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