Indiana stays home for a tilt against a struggling Michigan State program this season, when the two square off on Saturday.
The Spartans are just 10-9 (4-9) on the year and have struggled with COVID within their program for long stretches of the season.
Indiana-native Aaron Henry, has taken a step up in his development and production as a junior and leads the Spartans in scoring (14.3), rebounding (5.5) and assists (3.5). The lefty wing has started to take on more of a ball dominant role without a true point guard leading the MSU offense. Just a 28.8 percent three point shooter, he is capable of getting streaky from the perimeter. In his last five games, he is 8-of-16 from three. With a high usage rate (28 percent), he does have turnover issues - third in the Big Ten in total turnovers - and isn't always the best decision maker. Overall, Henry is how Michigan State gets offense and his athleticism and slashing ability will be a tough match for Indiana.
Joshua Langford is finally back and healthy for the Spartans and is third on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game. Efficiency is where Langford struggles. He is shooting just 34.8 percent in conference play and has an offensive rating of just 93.3. He is limited to being a jump shooter and doesn't have much true off of the bounce attacking skills.
Marquette transfer Joey Hauser has been an inconsistent piece for the Spartans thus far. In Big Ten play he is averaging just 9.2 points per game and has seven of the 13 conference games with less than 10 points. As a hybrid four, he has the ability to take a bigger defender off of the dribble at times, but for the most part he has resorted to a three-point shooter, with 53 percent of his shot attempts this season coming from three, making at a 35.1 percent clip.
Gabe Brown comes in off of the bench to provide a scoring punch. The 6-foot-7 wing is averaging 7.3 points. He is mainly a three-point shooter at this phase in his career but has the ability to get to the rim with his athleticism. He shoots 45 percent from three in over three attempts per game.
The point guard duties have been split between Rocket Watts and Foster Loyer, who will be out a week with a shoulder injury. Watts is a true combo guard who has really struggled making the transition to a full-time point guard this season. His numbers have dipped all across the board. He has one double-digit scoring game in the the last 14 outings and is averaging just 5.5 points over that span, going 30-of-109 (28.3 percent) from the field. He can get streaky and has a good first step ability when confidently attacking the rim, however.
It has been a revolving door in the frontcourt with Malik Hall and Marcus Bingham being the two main forwards outside of Hauser at this point. Both are more rebounding and defensive minded bigs who aren't a huge threat offensively.
Michigan State Projected Starters:
G - Rocket Watts (So; 6-2; 185)
Stats: 7.7 ppg, 3.0 apg
G- Josh Langford (Sr; 6-5; 200)
Stats: 9.6 ppg, 2.4 apg, 36.4% 3pt
G - Aaron Henry (Jr; 6-6; 212)
Stats: 14.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.5 apg
F - Marcus Bingham Jr (Jr; 6-11; 225)
Stats: 2.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg
F - Malik Hall (So; 6-7; 225)
Stats: 4.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.5 apg
Things To Watch For Indiana:
Michigan State can go through many stretches where it struggles to score, but then hits its stride and looks more efficient. The one thing the Spartans can do is break an opponent down off of the dribble. It's after that where MSU struggles. They rank 16th in the country with 17.2 assists per game, but also 140th with 13.7 turnovers per game. If IU can limit the amount of times it is beat off of the dribble the Spartans will have a difficult time scoring points.
IU has struggled rebounding the ball and this could be the way for the Spartans to keep this game close. They average nearly 39 rebounds per game, close to 12 of them being on the offensive glass. They have three of their rotational bigs with higher than a 10 percent offensive rebound percentage.
Lastly, IU just needs to show up mentally. Indiana is the better and more talented team, but the Hoosiers are a team that tends to play to the level of its competition. If Indiana looks past the Spartans, it could be a long afternoon in Bloomington.
Game Information:
Who: Michigan State (10-9; 4-9) @ Indiana (12-9; 7-7)
When: Saturday, Feb. 20 @ 12:00 pm ET
Where: Bloomington, IN
TV: ESPN (Jason Benetti and Dan Dakich)
Radio: IU Radio Network with Don Fischer, Errek Suhr and Joe Smith
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QUICK HITTERS
• Indiana leads the all-time series, 71-55, with the Hoosiers winning the last matchup, 67-63.
• Indiana has won each of the last three matchups against the Spartans.
• Aaron Henry is the only player in D-1 averaging at least 14 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
• Michigan State has been outscored by an average of 12.6 points in its last five road losses.
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